The regional size of the Sargasso bloom is a symptom of major planetary interconnected environmental impacts. A series of climate/oceanographic anomalies and historical accumulation of nutrient discharges to the ocean, are potential triggers that created a perfect storm resulting in the establishment of a new ecosystem named the Great Sargassum Belt (GSB) in the Equatorial Atlantic. The Sargasso Sea has existed in the North Atlantic for more than 500 years serving as an important ecosystem that supports large fisheries and migratory species; however, since 2011 the recently established SGB is growing massive blooms of two pelagic species of the genus Sargssum. Every spring-summer the accumulated biomass in the GSB, is transported to the Caribbean eventually stranding millions of tons of seaweed in exposed beaches causing ecological, health and socio-economic problems without precedent in history. The challenges and opportunities of this Atlantic wide problem will be presented and discussed

The seminar will be held on October 12, at 14:30, at the University of Algarve, Gambelas Campus - Complexo Pedagógico, Room 3.18, and also online via zoom.
Participation is free but mandatory to register.

REGISTER HERE

About our speaker:

Professor Ligia Collado-Vides is a Marine Botanist working on macroalgae in coral reefs, seagrass beds in the Caribbean and South Florida, recently focused in algal blooms.

This seminar was kindly sponsored by