Seaweeds, biodiversity and ecological importance

Seaweeds (macroalgae) are distributed widely in all world oceans and play an essential role in human life. They were used as food for centuries, and in recent innovation, they are sources of bioactive secondary metabolites. Substances extracted from seaweeds occur in toothpaste, shampoos, cosmetics, drugs, soups, ice creams, soft drinks, beer, jellies, marmalades, salad dressings, chewing gums, and many other products of extensive use. In some countries, they are among the most popular foods. Besides economic significance, seaweeds have an essential role in coastal ecosystems by providing space for marine organisms as a nursery ground and maintain the overall biodiversity structure. They are good bioindicators for environmental monitoring and assessment of the pollutant level in marine waters. This book describes the biodiversity of three different groups of seaweeds, brown algae phylum Phaeophyta, red algae phylum Rhodophyta and green algae phylum Chlorophyta. The total number of identified orders, families, genera, and species in every phylum has been described.