Special Issue "Environmental Impact and Management of Invasive Macroalgae on Marine Ecosystems"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability, Biodiversity and Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Andreu Blanco
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Ecology and Evolution Group, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
2. Coastal Ecology Group - Ecology and Animal Ecology Department, University of Vigo, 36208 Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain
Interests: marine ecology; invasive species; management and conservation of the marine environment and marine protected areas
Dr. Silvia Tejada
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Balearic Islands, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa) & Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN), Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Interests: sleep physiology; study of biological rhythms; biochemical markers of oxidative stress and its regulation; minimally invasive surgical techniques; aquatic ecotoxicology; invasive species

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The spread of non-indigenous species (NIS) has been identified worldwide as a major cause of serious ecological impacts and is considered a major threat to biological diversity and ecosystem functions and services, making its management complex and costly. Marine macroalgae represent an important component of NIS (up to 40%) and strongly impact ecosystem structure and function due to their ability to monopolize space, alter food webs, and spread over large-scale dispersal ranges. The invasion success is probably the result of a combination of characteristics, such as species invasiveness, propagule pressure, disturbance, and the susceptibility of a community to being invaded (invasibility) and usually involves the release of toxic metabolites that affect both their predators and their competitors. Physiological status can be assessed via several methodological tools and different biomarkers such as physiological biomarkers of oxidative stress that allow measuring the impact of NIS in the environment and native population. Dispersal, settlement, and establishment of marine invasive macroalgae, as well as species-specific performances, widely vary between regions (at larger scale) and locations (at smaller scale). Despite the negative impacts usually associated with invasive species (biodiversity loss, decreased aesthetic value, fouling of artificial structures, and clogging of fishing gear), invasive macroalgae are important sources of bioactive compounds with high industrial potential in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food industries. In this context, improving our knowledge on physiological impacts of invasive macroalgae and the role of conservation initiatives toward the restoration of native ecosystems would benefit both the drug industry and conservation managers in facing a common target, invasive macroalgae. In the present Special Issue, entitled “Environmental Impact and Management of Invasive Macroalgae on Marine Ecosystems”, we aim to collect a variety of research works that focus on both the negative and positive impacts associated with invasive macroalgae and how their management may be affected by marine conservation actions. Combining those topics would help to understand the dynamics of invasive macroalgae management and physiological response of invaded ecosystems and, therefore, balance the potential negative impacts on native communities and their inherent benefit for the industry through the production of secondary metabolites.

Dr. Andreu Blanco
Dr. Silvia Tejada
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • invasive macroalgae
  • secondary metabolites
  • oxidative stress
  • environmental impacts
  • marine protected areas
  • ecosystem resilience
  • invasive paradox

Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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