Marta García-Sánchez

University of Malaga | UMA · Department of Ecology and Geology

Holopelagic Sargassum spp. (sargassum) are the founding species of diverse communities in the Sargasso Sea. Since 2011, a new area of concentration of these algae was formed in the equatorial North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. We analyzed elemental composition, and the small mobile fauna associated with sargassum collected at 41 stations, during two...

The holopelagic brown macroalgae Sargassum natans and Sargassum fluitans form essential habitats for attached and mobile fauna which contributes to a unique biodiversity in the Atlantic Ocean. However, holopelagic Sargassum natans (genotype I & VIII) and Sargassum fluitans (genotype III) have begun forming large accumulations with subsequent strand...

Marine macroalgae are considered an untapped source of healthy natural metabolites and their market demand is rapidly increasing. Intertidal macroalgae present chemical defense mechanisms that enable them to thrive under changing environmental conditions. These intracellular chemicals include compounds that can be used for human benefit. The aim of...

Since late 2014, the Mexican Caribbean coast has periodically received massive, atypical influxes of pelagic Sargassum spp. (sargasso). Negative impacts associated with these influxes include mortality of nearshore benthic flora and fauna, beach erosion, pollution, decreasing tourism and high management costs. To understand the dynamics of the sarg...

Since 2011, unusually large quantities of pelagic Sargassum fluitans and S. natans (sargasso) have been washing ashore along the coasts of some African countries and the Greater Caribbean, impacting ecosystems and economies. We estimated biomass and composition of sargasso arriving to a Mexican Caribbean coast from September 2016 until May 2020. In...

The massive influx of pelagic Sargassum spp. (sargasso) into the Mexican Caribbean Sea has caused major deterioration of the coastal environment and has affected the tourism industry as well as livelihoods since 2015. Species of Sargassum have high capacity to absorb metals; thus, leachates of sargasso may contribute to contamination by potentially...

ABSTRACT: Short-term ecophysiological and biochemical responses of Cystoseira tamariscifolia and Ellisolandia elongata to changes in solar irradiance and nutrient levels were analyzed in situ in oligotrophic coastal waters by transferring macroalgae collected at 0.5 and 2.0 m depth and exposing them to 2 irradiance levels (100 and 70% of surface ir...

ABSTRACT: Previous studies of the impact of increased CO2 on macroalgae have mainly been done in laboratories or mesocosm systems, placing organisms under both artificial light and seawater conditions. In this study, macroalgae were incubated in situ in UV-transparent cylinders under conditions similar to the external environment. This system was t...

Cystoseira tamariscifolia (Hudson) Papenfuss (Phaeophyceae, Fucales) and Ellisolandia elongata (Ellis & Solander) Hind & Saunders (Florideophyceae, Corallinales) are two important species in intertidal habitats of Mediterranean rocky-shores (Algarra & Niell 1987, Häder et al. 1997, Gómez-Garreta et al. 2001, Figueroa & Gómez 2001). The aim this stu...

Cystoseira tamariscifolia (Hudson) Papenfuss (Phaeophyceae, Fucales) and Ellisolandia elongata (Ellis & Solander) Hind & Saunders (Florideophyceae, Corallinales) are two important species in intertidal habitats of Mediterranean rocky-shores (Algarra & Niell 1987, Häder et al. 1997, Gómez-Garreta et al. 2001, Figueroa & Gómez 2001). The aim this stu...

ECOPHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF DOMINANT ROCK-SHORE MACROALGAE TO CHANGES IN IRRADIANCE AND NUTRIENT SUPPLY IN SOUTHERN IBERIAN PENINSULA

Different approaches based on macrophytes have been proposed in recent years to implement the European Water Framework Directive. However, their application to transitional environments presents difficulties as a consequence of the natural gradients of environmental conditions in these ecosystems. Three of the most widely used methodological approa...

Seagrass communities are under direct threat as a result of anthropogenic impact and competition with macroalgae. Present day macrophyte meadows in the Mar Menor are the result of successive colonization events, associated with changes in the hydrographical conditions. In the last of these events, Caulerpa prolifera (Forsskål) J.V. Lamouroux coloni...