Distinct Growth and Tissue Composition (Cnp, Natural Isotopes) of the Three Morphotypes of Holopelagic Sargassum

Skillful Seasonal Forecast of Sargassum Proliferation in the Tropical Atlantic

“…The modeling of growth and mortality characteristics is poorly constrained by observations or experiments, so this aspect is particularly challenging. The main factors that were identified as essential to take into account to represent Sargassum growth are internal nutrient reserves of nitrogen and phosphorus (Hanisak, 1983), dissolved inorganic nutrients (nitrate, phosphate, ammonium) in the external medium (Changeux et al., 2023; Lapointe, 1986, 1995; Lapointe et al., 2014, 2021; Magaña‐Gallegos et al., 2023a, 2023b), solar radiation (Hanisak & Samuel, 1987; Lapointe, 1995), sea surface temperature (Hanisak & Samuel, 1987; Magaña‐Gallegos et al., 2023b), sea surface salinity (Hanisak & Samuel, 1987), and surface wind speed (Magaña‐Gallegos et al. (2023a) found that continuous movement of Sargassum is required to allow growth in ex‐situ culture systems).…”

“…In situ observations have also revealed that three different morphotypes are involved in the proliferation ( Sargassum fluitans III, Sargassum natans I, and Sargassum natans VIII e.g., Alleyne et al., 2023; Dibner et al., 2022; García‐Sánchez et al., 2020; Schell et al., 2015). The eco‐physiological features are species dependent, and it has been shown that Sargassum fluitans III, which has been the dominant morphotype over the recent years (García‐Sánchez et al., 2020), grows significantly faster than the Sargassum natans morphotypes (Changeux et al., 2023; Corbin & Oxenford, 2023; Magaña‐Gallegos et al., 2023a, 2023b). However there is no convergence of the recent studies on the temperature dependance of the different morphotypes (Corbin & Oxenford, 2023; Magaña‐Gallegos et al., 2023a, 2023b) and there is no knowledge of the salinity, light, or senescence dependence of the different morphotypes.…”