The 17 other damselfish species studied generally cultivate mixed crops of algae, do this in a more extensive fashion than S. nigricans, and have less specific associations with Polysiphonia algae.
Furthermore, chemical remediation kills the current crop of algae--as the dead algae rots it provides more food for the next growth of algae.
"Algae Crops: Coproduction of Algae Biofuels". In Industrial Crops, pp. 369-380.
Table 1 Production of oil from crops compared to algae Types of crops Oil yield (L/m2/year) References Microalgae 4.7 14 Sheehan et al. (1998) Palm 0.54 Mata et al. (2010) Jatropha 0.19 Sazdanoff (2006) Sunflower 0.09 Soya 0.04.
These fertilizers enhance the growth not just of crops on land but also of algae and aquatic plants in the waters where they end up.
Algae can be grown on land unsuitable for food crops, but no one yet knows how to optimally produce the vast quantities of algae necessary to supply even a small fraction of the world's appetite for fuel.
Major advantages of algae are potentially high yield and no competition with food crops for arable land and fresh water resource.
However, it is increasingly evident that the majority of herbivorous fish in the Indo-Pacific will crop turf algae, but feed less on or avoid erect macroalgae once it has developed [24], [25].
Indeed it already has more than 100 companies at work in the field--pioneering the conversion of algae, municipal solid waste and widely available biomass such as wood waste and crop residues into renewable fuels.
Indeed it already has more than 100 companies at work in the field pioneering the conversion of algae, municipal solid waste and widely available biomass such as wood waste and crop residues into renewable fuels.
If a strain of algae could secrete high yields of protein, using less land and water than traditional crops, it may represent the best hope to feed a booming planet.
