Tom Mumford

Collapse of Kelp Forests Disrupts Food Web and Energy Flow in the Gulf of In the coastal waters of Maine, a profound ecological shift is quietly reshaping the structure and energy base of marine ecosystems. Over recent decades, kelp forests lining the southern coast of

“Over recent decades, kelp forests lining the southern coast of Maine have suffered drastic declines in abundance—by as much as 80%.” 🌿🌎🦑🐟 scienmag.com/collapse-of-...

Metagenomics of the MAST-3 stramenopile, Incisomonas, and its associated microbiome reveals unexpected metabolic attributes and extensive nutrient dependencies Protists are polyphyletic singled-celled eukaryotes that underpin global ecosystem functioning, particularly in the oceans. Most remain uncultured, limiting investigation of their physiology and cell ...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#protistsonsky

Summary of genetic events discussed in the article

Giving up on #photosynthesis: How a borrowed bacterial gene allows marine #diatoms to live on a #seaweed diet phys.org/news/2025-04...

Diatom heterotrophy on brown algal polysaccharides emerged through HGT, gene duplication, & neofunctionalization journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

#algae #protists

Brown Algae Enzymes Unlock Custom Biotech Materials of the Future Scientists at the University of Barcelona have deciphered how enzymes reshape alginate molecules from brown algae—paving the way for custom-designed, sustainable biomaterials.

Seaweed might be the new silicon. Scientists decoded how to reprogram algae molecules for use in medicine, materials, and more. #MarineBiotech #GreenInnovation #AlgaeFuture

Bull kelp forests are now the official marine forest of Washington, thanks in part to the hard work of Sebastian, a Bainbridge High School student. We can all make a difference, no matter our age.

Today is bull kelp day!!

📣Now Free Access: Marine heatwave duration and intensity interact to reduce physiological tipping points of kelp species with contrasting thermal affinities
Get the Paper:

Regulation of Seaweed Cultivation and Sinking for Carbon Dioxide Removal in Alaska: New Sabin Center Report - Climate Law Blog Last year, for the first time, global temperatures exceeded 1.5oC above pre-industrial levels. This follows a decade of “record-breaking temperatures,” with the World Meteorological Organization concl...

New Report from @sabincenter.bsky.social! Everything you ever wanted to know about the regulation of seaweed cultivation and sinking for #CDR in Alaska (and maybe more). blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechang...

As Seaweed Farming Grows, Researchers Aim to Close Knowledge Gaps
->The Pew Charitable Trusts | #Farming | More info from EcoSearch

In the race to find critical minerals, there’s a ‘gold mine’ literally at our shoreline Instead of continuing to dig tunnels or pits, some scientists are looking to a promising yet challenging source of minerals: seawater.

In the race to find critical minerals, there’s a ‘gold mine’ literally at our shoreline.

grist.org/video/seawat...

#Seaweed #Water #Mining #Science #Biology

And now go watch the movie “Ammonite” to put it in perspective. Who were the real phycologists then?

“Black seaweed”? Pyropia abbottiae? A traditional First Nation harvest.

🚨New Study🚨showing that Macrocystis and Nereocystis #kelp canopy cover has remained relatively stable through several decades in a cool-water region of central BC, Canada. #PhycologyFriday 🧪🐙

👏This was a huge effort led by Lauren with many great collaborators 👏

www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

Can the Emerging European Seaweed Industry Contribute to Climate Change Mitigation by Enhancing Carbon Sequestration? Blue carbon habitats, which exhibit high rates of natural carbon sequestration, typically refer to salt marshes, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests. Recent studies, however, have argued for the i...

Can the Emerging European Seaweed Industry Contribute to Climate Change Mitigation by Enhancing Carbon Sequestration?

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

An album of over 200 pressed seaweeds collected by an anonymous Victorian collector. A transcribed poem is pasted as title page, it begins: "Oh call us not weeds, we are flowers of the sea."

I saw this at UW-Madison Special Collections 🌊📚
CA 19285

#seaweed #herbarium #naturalhistory

Samples of pressed seaweed from the collection of Mrs A. Miller, Stennaquoy, Eday.

This #InternationalWomensDay we’re celebrating Mrs A. Miller of Eday, who collected and artistically pressed Orkney seaweeds onto small cards in 1929-1930. Her beautiful specimens in our collection feature in the current Seaweed Secrets exhibition: www.stromnessmuseum.org.uk/whatson/2024...

Kelp Farming Isn’t As Green As It Seems Opinion | Growing kelp may appear like a simple strategy for removing atmospheric carbon, but the practice has many pitfalls.

Champions of the kelp industry have made bold claims that farming the fast-growing seaweed will alleviate the climate crisis. But those claims are not substantiated by the science of how kelp removes and sequesters atmospheric carbon. 

Also totally agree. If you want to restore, restore the environment in which seagrasses can thrive. Restore the processes!

'Like someone put a blanket over the ocean': Kelp could be among fires' casualties A giant sea bass swims amid kelp at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Kelp is highly sensitive to environmental changes. Fluctuations in temperature, light availability, nutrients and pollutants can have surprisingly swift consequences on kelp populations, which...

'Like someone put a blanket over the ocean': Kelp could be among fires' casualties
->Los Angeles Times | #Ocean | More info from EcoSearch

New paper hot of the press for #phycologyfriday !!!! 🌱🌊🌞We conducted a warming experiment in the field to test stress responses of the intertidal habitat forming seaweed Fucus serratus: nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#PhycologyFriday

🚨Preprint Alert🚨 I'm really happy to finally share our exploits in red algae and introduce the wider community to Bostrychia, the new model system we have been developing to tackle the molecular biology of red algae. Isn't she a beauty? Thread below 🧵 1/8 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

🧪 🐙🦦🌱

Ocean-loving undergrads and grad students, take note!

My pal Robin Elahi is offering an excellent Kelp Forest Ecology course at Hopkins Marine Station, in Pacific Grove, CA
25 June - 25 July, 2025

Learn more below 👇

forms.gle/1HdF54hnM41F...

The Mysterious World of Bull Kelp This web-based book celebrates the power of art and science to tell the story of kelp forests on the North Pacific Coast.

I discovered a web site which tells many facets of the kelp forest story, doing an amazing job of it — with images, video, words, references, and no advertising. It also has menus to let you choose different perspectives, such as region, forest community members, restoration, etc. bullkelp.info

Come join us for an exciting deep dive into the world of seaweeds. Priority applications are due February 14, applications submitted after this date will be considered on a rolling basis. #kelp #seaweed #biodiversity #botany

First time I found a Laminaria ochroleuca with a curly stipe, I thought it unfortunate a whirlpool could do that 😅

Turns out there's a thing called twisted stipe disease

#Phycology #PhycologyFriday

You need to say where you saw this. But think Undaria . Invasive kelp species

Did you know you can age some perennial kelps by counting rings just like trees?

We aged populations of two species first surveyed in the '80s (by Klinger and DeWreede!) to see if their age structure had changed.

Our new paper is out, just in time for #PhycologyFriday!
doi.org/10.1111/jpy....

#PhycologyFriday 🧪🌱🧬