Abstract
The yield and quality of agar from Gelidium robustum from the main commercial harvest beds along the western coast of the Baja California Peninsula (Mexico) were evaluated within a latitudinal range of about 800 km (31°47′N to 27°05′N). Samples from six locations, Bahía Todos Santos, El Rosario, Isla de Cedros, Islas San Benito, Punta Eugenia, and Bahía Asunción, were analyzed. Bryozoan, protein, and agar content in the seaweed were estimated. The agar quality was determined by the content of 3,6-anhydrogalactose, sulfate, gel strength, and gelling and melting temperature. All the values of these variables were correlated and then with the satellite-derived data of the sea surface temperature (SST), net primary production (NPP), and photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) measured at each harvest bed during the summer months (June, July, and August) of 2000. In the northern and central region, the agar yield was 35% to 37% (Bahía Todos Santos, El Rosario, Isla de Cedros, and Islas San Benito), whereas lower yields were obtained from the southern beds (Punta Eugenia and Bahía Asunción). In contrast, the agar quality increased from the northern to the southern beds. A lower gel strength was obtained from Bahía Todos Santos and El Rosario (268 ± 16 and 205 ± 5 gcm−2) with a higher gel strength obtained from Isla de Cedros, Islas San Benito, and Bahía Asunción (384 to 444 ± 25 gcm−2). Yield was not correlated with the bryozoan content but was inversely correlated with the protein content in the seaweed. The sulfate content in the agar was inversely correlated with the gel strength and with the melting temperature. The 3,6-anhydrogalactose content showed slight variations among harvested beds. Analysis of satellite-derived data showed an equatorward increase of the SST, NPP, and PAR. The agar content correlated inversely with the equatorward increase of the NPP, whereas agar quality, i.e., gel strength, correlated positively with the NPP and PAR. No significant effects were observed on the yield and quality of agar with the latitudinal change of the SST.
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful to AGARMEX S.A. de C.V. for donation of algae samples and to the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanológicas, and Instituto Nacional de la Pesca for their support of this research. Special thanks to Raúl Aguilar Rosas, David Lora, Alberto Gálvez, José Guzmán, Alejandro Cabello, Guadalupe García, Guillermo Ballesteros, Teresa Viana, and Roberto Escobar. We thank the NASA Ocean Color Processing Group and PODAAC at JPL for satellite data. This research was supported by a CONACYT grant (28069-B, “Desarrollo del cultivo de algas marinas de valor comercial”) to J. Zertuche-González and a scholarship to M.A. Hurtado. Thanks to anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and Dr. Ellis Glazier for editing this English language text.
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Hurtado, M.Á., Manzano-Sarabia, M., Hernández-Garibay, E. et al. Latitudinal variations of the yield and quality of agar from Gelidium robustum (Gelidiales, Rhodophyta) from the main commercial harvest beds along the western coast of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. J Appl Phycol 23, 727–734 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-010-9572-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-010-9572-0