Investigating how abiotic environmental factors influence Ulva lactuca (sea lettuce) reproductivity.
Seaweed aquaculture is a rapidly growing industry in the Gulf of Maine; there is particular interest in cultivating sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) in ocean-based aquaculture for the first time in North America. The sea lettuce team in the Byron lab is cooking up novel work to aid their industry partner, Atlantic Sea Farms, in successfully farming this crop! They are working to evaluate how different abiotic environmental factors (i.e. the lunar cycle, tides, temperature, and light availability) impact the reproductive life cycle of sea lettuce. This work is intended to help the seaweed aquaculture industry more effectively cultivate this species!
