Abstract

For at least several centuries, sargasso has inhabited the Atlantic Ocean, and there are historical records of these algae reaching the Mexican Veracruz State in the Gulf of Mexico. Blooming of sargasso in the southern tropical Atlantic is a current a global problem from Africa to the Greater Caribbean. Since 2015, exceptionally large quantities of sargasso have been arriving intermittently on the Mexican Caribbean coast, affecting coastal ecosystems and tourist beaches. Sargasso includes two holopelagic species, Sargassum natans and S. fluitans, with several varieties. There are no records of sexual reproduction in these species, and the algae are thought to spread exclusively by clonal reproduction by fragmentation. Although sargasso seaweeds have grown in the Sargasso Sea for centuries; they have not been well studied. This chapter deals with historical aspects of these algae, their taxonomic and morphological characteristics, distribution, ecology, and practical uses. Sargasso blooms in the central Atlantic started in 2011. In later years, the bloom developed to extend from West Africa, Brazil, and the Great Caribbean, including West-Indies, Mexico, and the Gulf of Mexico. The pelagic sargasso is a global phenomenon that must be understood by integrating natural history, modern biology, social and economic aspects.

Highlights

  • The Mexican beaches of the western Atlantic Sea, those of the Mexican Caribbean in the state of Quintana Roo, are among the most visited by national and international tourists due to their beautiful turquoise waters and white calcareous sand

  • The area was well known to sailors: “An ancient tradition, which has been preserved among the pilots of Galicia, says that this large bank of “fucus“ marks the middle of the route they take through the “Golfo de las Yeguas” [“Gulf of Herbs“] the ships return to Spain from Cartagena de Indias, Veracruz or Havana, which are favored by the current of the Gulf Stream” [20]

  • Costa Noroeste de la América Septentrional, por don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra ...” from 1792. In this list we found Fucus natans, currently Sargassum natans, it is clear that it is sargasso, very possibly collected in the Gulf of Mexico, perhaps to drift; the exsiccata is not found in the Herbarium of the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid

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Summary

Introduction

The Mexican beaches of the western Atlantic Sea, those of the Mexican Caribbean in the state of Quintana Roo, are among the most visited by national and international tourists due to their beautiful turquoise waters and white calcareous sand. The massive influxes and beaching of these seaweeds have become a persistent phenomenon, which has led to a series of investigations in Mexico and other parts of the world, that aim to understand this phenomenon and to develop adaptation strategies to mitigate its damage to the ecosystems and economy. This problem has prompted us to ask ourselves various questions of a natural history nature: How long have these seaweed rafts been around? We will provide information on past and present uses of sargasso

Fossil and historical records of sargasso
Huerta
Methodology of the study of herbarium specimen
Classification and species descriptions
Molecular biology
Reproduction
Distribution, ecology, and origin
Golden and Sargasso Brown tides
Uses of sargasso and perspectives
Findings
Conclusions
Full Text
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