Phycology

Key features

• Discusses the connection between the surplus of pollutants in waters due to Man's activities and the increasingly high densities of algae growth resulting in blooms of nuisance and/or toxin-producing genera
• Introduces the latest research on algae as a biomass resource, allowing students to learn about the various strands of development in this field and the hurdles that this technology has yet to overcome before it can compete in the fuel market
• Explains how the application of powerful and ultra-rapid nucleic acid sequencing techniques to the problems of phylogenetic studies has led to a greater understanding of the evolution of algal groups and their interrelationships
• Covers the economic importance of algae from their role as primary producers of the aquatic environments to source of food for both animals and humans, and their ability to yield specific chemical products and antibiotics