Scientific Lecture: Seaweed by Marine Biologist Annette Bruhn

Marine biologist Annette Bruhn presents a lecture on seaweed - what it actually is, how it lives, and what it can be used for.

Seaweed is not a plant but an alga, and it grows in a wealth of colours, shapes and sizes along coastlines from pole to equator. Kelp forests play a role in marine ecosystems just like forests on land: they create food sources and shelter for fish and small animals, absorb nutrients and CO2, produce oxygen and counteract ocean acidification. For thousands of years, humans have used seaweed for food, feed, fertilizer and materials.

New research points to seaweed as a contribution to solutions for climate crisis, food crisis and loss of biodiversity - but does the claim hold up? The lecture examines this more closely. You will also learn what distinguishes algae from plants and animals, and how seaweed is cultivated both in the sea and on land.

Finally, there will be tastings of seaweed products.