An International Research Meeting:

Front of Diversity Research on Kelp in the North Pacific
Hokkaido University, May 27-29, 2013

PROGRAM
Monday May 27
13:00-13:05 Welcome and introduction (Norishige Yotsukura)
13:05-13:50

Present situation and assignment of biodiversity research on
kelp in Japan
Norishige Yotsukura (Field Science Center for Northern
Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Japan)

13:50-14:35

Present situation and assignment of biodiversity research on
kelp in North America
Louis Druehl (Bamfield Marine Science Centre & CanadianKelp Resources, Canada)

14:35-15:20

Present situation and assignment of biodiversity research on

15:20-15:35

kelp in Russia
Nina Klochkova (Department of Ecology and Nature Management,
Kamchatka State Technical University,
Russia)Coffee and tea break

15:35-16:20

Present situation and assignment of biodiversity research on
kelp in Korea
Sung Min Boo (Department of Biology, Chungnam National
University, Korea)

16:20-17:05

Present situation and assignment of biodiversity research on

17:05-17:20

kelp in China
Shao Jun Pang (Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of
Science, China)
Qs and As

18:00-20:00

Convivial party

Tuesday May 28
9:30-10:00 Geographical features of the North Pacific for algal
distribution
Tsuyoshi Abe (The Hokkaido University Museum, Hokkaido
University, Japan)
10:00-10:30

Present situation and assignment of ecological diversity
research on kelp
Dmitry Galanin (Sakhalin Research Institute of Fisheries and

10:30-10:45

Oceanography, Russia)
Coffee and tea break

10:45-11:15

Present situation and assignment of diversity conservation
research on kelp
Shinji Kirihara (Fisheries Institute, Aomori Prefectural
Industrial Technology Research Center, Japan)

11:15-11:45

Present situation and assignment of diversity utilization
research on kelp
Tadashi Kawai (Wakkanai Fisheries Experimental Station,

Hokkaido Research Organization, Japan)
11:45-12:00 Qs and As
12:00-12:50 Lunch
12:50-13:20 Poster Presentation
No. 1 - Novel uses of kelp in Canada
Rae Hopkins (Canadian Kelp Resources, Canada)
No. 2 - Novel use of kelp in Japan
Yasunori Kinoshita (Hokkaido Industrial Technology Center, Japan)
No. 3 - Long-term variation in distribution of konbu (Saccharina) beds
along coasts of Hokkaido, Japan
Kentaro Watanabe (Akkeshi Marine Station, Hokkaido University,
Japan)
No. 4 - Approach to elucidation of genetic diversity of Saccharina
Japonica in northern part of Japan based on DNA fingerprinting
Takashi Maeda (Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido
University, Japan)
No. 5 - Spatial estimation of the kelp forests (Sacchaina spp.) distributions
in coastal waters of Aomori, Japan, using acoustic method
Huamei Shao (Grauate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido

University, Japan)
No. 6 - A taxonomic re-examination of Saccharina longipedalis(Laminariales, Phaeophyceae)
Nobu Nagai (Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido
University, Japan)
13:20-14:20 General discussion (Part I)
14:20-14:30 General overview (Louis Druehl)
14:30
Closing
Wednesday May 29
Afternoon
General Discussion (Part II)

-

-

Venue
Enyuu Gakusha, Hokkaido University (May 27-28)
Kita 18 Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo,
Hokkaido, 001-0018 Japan
Usujiri Fisheries Station, Hokkaido University (May 29)
Usujiri 151, Hakodate, Hokkaido , 041-1613 Japan

Organizer
Norishige Yotsukura
Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere,
Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0809 Japan
Tel: +81(11)-706-2585; E-mail: yotsukur@fsc.hokudai.ac.jp
SupportHokkaido University

Introduction
The coasts of the North Pacific Ocean are home to the richest biodiversity of kelps
growing in cold seawater, and not a few researchers specialize in the kelp taxonomy in
the countries bordering this region. However, because this area has many endemic
species that are found only in restricted locations, it is not easy for even the researchers
to know about species growing in distant locations. Therefore, it is necessary to identify
the species found in different locations and to organize taxonomic problems for future
broad discussion on the classification and speciation of kelps.
In general, although kelps show considerable morphological variation, they beenclassified according to only a few morphological features. Furthermore, themorphological characters used for the classifications are not stable. It is necessary toorganize morphological features to compare kelps under common classification
characters. Meanwhile, taxonomic reorganization of kelps based on genetic information
has been performed. However, the results of genetic analyses do not necessarily support
the result of analyses based on morphological information, and hence, taxonomic views
vary among researchers. Under circumstances where scientists in different areas have toshare information on kelps and also have to promote awareness of the biodiversity andfuture conservation and utilization, it is important to assemble the latest findings fromvarious fields and identify problems to reach a common understanding.
Researchers who study biodiversity of kelp in cold seawater and who live in countries
on the coasts of the North Pacific Ocean are invited to an international workshop to beheld at Hokkaido University, which has a long history of kelp research initiated by Dr.
Kingo Miyabe.
Norishige YOTSUKURA
Field Science Center for Northern Bioshere,
Hokkaido University

Present situation and assignment of biodiversity research on kelp in Japan
Norishige Yotsukura
Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere
Hokkaido University
Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0809 Japanyotsukur@fsc.hokudai.ac.jp
The laminarialean algae growing at the coast of Japan, which is one of the sea areas
richest in species diversity, form kelp forests. They play an important role in the marine
ecosystems in various regions and are used in Japanese cuisine. Because of theimportance of Japanese kelps to ecology and fisheries, taxonomic investigation was
initiated in earnest by Dr. Kingo Miyabe1) and Dr. Kintaro Okamura2) more than acentury ago. Features of the individual species have been described in detail over theyears on the basis of a classification system developed by Oltmanns3), Setchell andGardner4), and Kawashima5).
For Japanese kelps, morphological features of the lamina, stipe, and holdfast of
adults have been recognized as taxonomically important in Japan, although features ofthe micro-sized young sporophyte have been reported in some species. In addition, thepresence or absence of mucilage lacuna / mucilage gland in adult tissues has been used
as a standard for classification. These features are useful for systematically organizing
levels of the hierarchy. However, these classification characters are known to vary
widely according to growing environments; thus, object information is required for therecognition of kelp species. Under such circumstances, recently, a classification systemfor kelps based on morphological information described in lists by Kawashima6) andYoshida et al.7) has been accepted among researchers in Japan. However, regarding theso-called “advanced kelps,” which have been recognized as Alariaceae or
Laminariaceae and for which a difference of opinion exists between researchers inforeign countries and those in Japan. The difference of opinion has often led toconfusion during discussions between the groups.
In the past 15 years molecular phylogenetic studies have been performedenergetically, yielding new taxonomic implications for Japanese kelps based on
quantitative data8)~15). By reorganizing the classification system of Japanese kelps basedon these findings, “primitive kelps” are classified into 3 families: Akkesiphycaceae,
Chordaceae and Pseudochordaceae, including 3 genera and 6 species, and “advancedkelps” are classified into 4 families: Alariaceae, Costariaceae, Laminariaceae andLessoniaceae, including 11 genera and 31 species16). As of now, the resulting system is
not explained clearly by morphological comparisons. For example, for the species in
Laminariaceae growing in Japan, in the accumulated morphological information sinceDr. Miyabe’s research, the taxon shows a relatively simple morphology, unlike that inother families, and seems unified. However, it is difficult to briefly and clearly describe
the characteristics of Laminariaceae that are applicable to all species in the family,
including both those growing in Japan and those growing in foreign countries that havecomplicated morphologies, e.g. Macrocystis, Nereocystis, Pelagophycus, Postelsia andPseudolessonia. The same holds true at the genus level; it is difficult to show
morphological characteristics that discriminate between the 2 genera, Laminaria andSaccharina, which were reorganized from the conventional system when comparing thegenera after considering all species, including those growing in foreign countries.
Kelps widely distributed in the world have various classification characters that seem
important. Considering that many of the morphological characters of kelps change
according to their growing process and environment, the characters that seem apparently
unrelated to classification may indeed be important. To create an acceptableclassification system for Japanese kelps based on molecular analyses by adding
morphological information, it is necessary for researchers from around the world toprovide detailed comparisons and discussions of the common characters of kelps and to
search for commonly recognized classification characters.
On Japanese kelps, the taxonomical assignment that should be clarified has beenorganized with accumulation of the objective information. Here, several outcomes ofrecent biodiversity researches and current taxonomical assignments on Japanese kelp,
notably on advanced kelp in cold seawater, are enumerated.
Outcomes-

Each of three traditional saccharinan species: Saccharina religiosa, S. ochitensis and
S. diabolica, is a regional variety of S. japonica var. japonica13).
- Laminaria sachalinensis should be changed to S. sachalinensis14).
- Genetic diversity within S. japonica is able to be investigated by DNA fragment
analysis17).
Assignments-

taxonomic position of Laminaria japonica f. membrance
taxonomic position of Saccharina longipedalis-

taxonomic relationship between S. angustata and S. longissima
taxonomic relationship between S. cichorioides and S. sachalinensis

-taxonomic relationship between S. yendoana, L. gurjanovae and L. sikotanensis
taxonomic relationship between Alaria angusta and A. marginata

References
1)
Miyabe K (1902) Hokkaido Suisan Chosahokoku 3: 1-60; 2) Okamura K (1896) Bot.
Mag. (Tokyo) 10:87-101; 3) Oltmanns F (1922) Morphologie und Biologie der Algen,Vol. II, Phaeophyceae-Rhodophyceae, 2nd ed. Gustay Fischer, Jena; 4) Setchell WA,
Gardner NL (1925) Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot. 8: 383-398; 5) Kawashima (1989)
Aquabiology 63: 322-325; 6) Kawashima S (1993) Illstration Book of JapaneseLaminariales. Kitanihon-Kaiyo Center, Sapporo; 7) Yoshida T, Yoshinaga K (2010) Jpn.
J. Phycol. 58: 69-122; 8) Kawai T, Sasaki H (2000) Phycologia 39: 416-428; 9) Kawai H
et al. (2001) J. Phycol. 37: 130-142; 10) Yotsukura N (2005) Nat. Hist. Res. 8: 69-81; 11)
Lane CE et al. (2006) J. Phycol. 42: 493-512; 12) Sasaki H, Kawai H (2007) Phycologia
46: 10-21; 13) Yotsukura N et al (2008) J. Jpn. Bot. 83: 165-176; 14) Yotsukura N, Druehl
LD (2009) J. Jpn. Bot. 84: 113-117; 15) Boo GH et al. (2011) Taxon 60: 831-840; 16)
Yotsukura N (2010) Algal Resources 3: 193-198; 17) Maeda T et al. (2013) J. Appl.
Phycol. 25: 337-347

Present situation and assignment of biodiversity research on kelp in North
AmericaLouis Druehl
Bamfield Marine Science Centre& Canadian Kelp Resources
Port Desire, Bamfield, BC, V0R-1B0 Canada
ldruehl@island.net
Vancouver Island shares with Hokkaido the richest kelp floras in the world. Initially,
Setchell and Gardner (1), working with the northeast Pacific kelp, described three kelp
families that were defined by gross morphological features. Mostly, their classification
worked, but some difficulties existed. For example, Alaria (Alariaceae) andLessoniopsis (Lessoniaceae) share features distinctive to the two families (3).
Molecular analysis showed these two genera were interfertile (4). A series ofmolecular studies have shown that the morphologically defined families do not reflect
genetic relationships (5,6,7, fig 1).
As an example, the molecular family,
Laminariaceae, contains all of the Northern Hemispheric morphological Lessoniceae(Fig. 2).
Pleurophycus gardneri
Lessoniopsis littoralis
Pterygophora californica
Alariaceae*/
Undaria pinnatifida*/*/-/Alaria fistulosa**/72/59
Alaria marginata
Dictyoneuropsis reticulata*/*/98
Costariaceae fam. nov.
Costaria costata*/55/55
Agarum clathratum*/-/79Lessonia flavicans*/*/*
Lessonia corrumbosa
Lessonia nigrescens*/85/88
Lessoniaceae*/*/*
Eisenia arborea
57/-/Ecklonia radiata
Egregia menziesii*/*/*
Macrocystis integrifolia*/*/*
Pelagophycus porra
Nereocystis
leutkeana*/91/85*/80/89*/96/84
Postelsia palmaeformis
Hedophyllum sessile*/*/*
98/90/Laminaria angustata
Laminariaceae*/92/90
Kjellmaniella gyrata*/-/68Laminaria saccharina
Support values =*/53/Cymathaere triplicata
Bayes/NJ/pars
Laminaria yezoensis*/*/98Laminaria sinclairii* = 100, - = > 50*/*/99Laminaria digitata*/-/-*/75/58

0.005 substitutions / site

A new kelp
multi-gene
phylogeny

Laminariaceae
Morphological

Molecular

Lane, C.E., C. Mayes, L.D. Druehl, G.W. Saunders (2006) J.
Phycol. 42:493-512 (Fig. 7)

Figure 1. Present status of molecular kelp families.

Figure 2. Morphological and Molecular Laminariaceae.

More recently molecular barcoding and AFLP (amplified-fragment length
polymorphisms) analyses have defined closely related taxa (8,9). AFLP and similar
analyses allow one to track the direction of gene flow and discover areas important tothe conservation of wild kelp stock. In the Alaria AFLP study, 206 score –able bands
were produced (9). With these bands genetic similarity coefficients could bedetermined within patches and between patches in a stand (distance up to 15 m) (Fig. 3),

AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms)
Analyses of Alaria Genetic Structure
Kusumo, H.T. and L. D. Druehl (2000) Marine Biology 136:397-409; Fig. 6

Alaria marginata. Genetic similarity coefficients (% ± SE)
Ovals: within patches
Box: between patches
April samples, Execution Rock, Barkley Sound, BC
Patch #1

Patch #4

63.16 ± 1.577.70 ± 2.3

70.10 ± 6.4± 15m

Figure 3. An example of within patch and between patch
genetic similarity coefficients for the genus Alaria.
The patches were separated by 15 m.

DNA barcoding for species
identification*/75/58

Phylogram andSpecies Identification
Alaria nana
Alaria nana
Druehlia fistulosa
PCR & Sequence
Druehlia fistulosa

Mining MolecularPhylogenies for
Pharmaceuticals

Pleurophycus gardneri
Lessoniopsis littoralis
Pterygophora californica
Undaria pinnatifida*/-/Alaria fistulosa*/72/59
Alaria marginata
Blunden, Guiry, Druehl,
Dictyoneuropsis reticulata*/*/98
Kogame, Kawai (2012) NPC
Costaria costata*/55/55
7:1-4
Agarum clathratum*/-/79Lessonia flavicans
Investigated*/*/*Lessonia corrumbosa
Lessonia nigrescens
GABA detected*/85/88*/*/*
Eisenia arborea
Not investigated57/-/Ecklonia radiata
Egregia menziesii*/*/*
Macrocystis integrifolia*/*/*
Pelagophycus porra
Nereocystis leutkeana*/91/85*/80/89*/96/84
Postelsia palmaeformis
Hedophyllum sessile*/*/*
98/90/Laminaria angustata*/92/90
Kjellmaniella gyrata*/-/68Laminaria saccharina*/53/Cymathaere triplicata
Laminaria yezoensis*/*/98Laminaria sinclairii*/*/99Laminaria digitata*/-/-

Web-accessible database

Figure 4. Barcoding-based classification.

several specimens, taking herbarium andDNA samples and combining these with
notes on collection, etc. (Fig. 4).

*/
*/
*

Collect several(conspecific) specimens

Compare with other specimens

and between stands (6.5 km—185 km). The
results followed an isolation-by-distancemodel.
DNA barcoding of brown algae is basedon sequences in Cytochrome c oxidase 1 (8).
This system showed within species
divergence of 0.00—0.46%. Classification
using this approach involves analyzing

0.005 substitutions / site

Lane, C.E., C. Mayes, L.D. Druehl, G.W. Saunders(2006) J. Phycol. 42:493-512 (Fig. 7)

Figure 5.The distribution of GABA (γ-Aminobutyric acid)

Molecular phylogenies provide a powerful among kelp species (10).
tool in guiding
the researcher
in mapping out
thepotential
distribution offascinating
biochemicals.
This approach Figure 6. Umami flavour oriented compounds in selected kelp (12).
could be used indiscoveringinteresting amino acid combinations in searching out umami (10,12, Fig 6).
An understanding of inheritance in kelp will accelerate the production of superior
kelp hybrids. Presently, One should select parents, placing emphasis on the female
donor parent. However, the initial findings need to be verified (11, Fig. 7).

交雑体の形成と生残（１）Key Issues To Be Addressed:- Reconcile molecularly defined kelp
species with classic identification.
- Determine the mode of genetic
inheritance in kelp and the role ofapogamy.
- Make molecular advances in kelp♀
♂

Figure 7. Production of apogamous, normal and hybrid kelp

genetics and phylogeny accessible toindustry.

sporophytes in seven kelp species (11).

References
1. Setchell, W.A. & N.L. Gardner (1925). Univ. Calif.(Berkeley) Publ. Botan.
8:383-898.
3. Druehl, L.D. & G.W. Saunders (1992). Prog. Phycol. Res. 8:47-83.
4. Liptack, M. & L.D. Druehl (2000). Eur. J. Phycol. 35:135-142.
5. Fain, S.R., L.D. Druehl, & K.L. Baillie (1988). J. Phycol. 24:292-302.
6. Druehl, L.D., C. Mayes, I.H. Tan, G.W. Saunders (1997). Plant Systematics andEvolution11:221-235.
7. Lane, C.E., C. Mayes, L.D. Druehl, G.W. Saunders (2006). J. Phycol. 42:493-512.
8. McDevit, D.C. & G.W. Saunders (2009). Phycol. Res. 57:131-141.
9. Kusumo, H.T. & L.D. Druehl. (2000). Marine Biology 136:397-409.
10. Blunden, G., M.D. Guiry, L.D. Druehl, K. Kogame, & H. Kawai (2012). Natural
Product Communications 7:863-865.
11. Druehl, L.D., J.D. Collins, C.E. Lane & G.W. Saunders (2005). J. Phycol.
41:250-262.
12. Mouritsen, O.G., L. Williams, R. Bjerregarrd, L. Duelund (2012). Flavour 1:4.

Find your kelp

Present situation and assignment of biodiversity research on kelp in Russia
Nina Klochkova
Department of Ecology and Nature Management
Kamchatka State Technical University
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka, 683003 Russia
ninakl@mail.ru
Brief introduction to the present state of knowledge on Russian Far Eastern kelp
In Russian Far East, the exploration of marine flora and fauna began in 1733 with theSecond Kamchatka Expedition led by Vitus Bering in the Sea of Okhotsk. Thereafter,
Ivan F. Krusenstern explored the eastern coast of Sakhalin Island in 1805 and Ivan G.
Voznesensky explored the Far East and Russian possessions in North America during
1839-1849. The earliest phycological works in the region are associated with F.J.
Ruprecht in 19th century and several Russian phycologists in 20th century: T.F. Schapova,
Anna D. Zinova, Elena S. Zinova, V.B. Vozzhinskaja, E.I. Blinova, Yu.E. Petrov, M.V.
Suchovejeva, K.L. Vinogradova, L.P. Perestenko, and I.S. Gussarova. For several
coastal areas, these early phycological works are the only existing records on species
composition and structure of algal communities in the intertidal and subtidal zones.
More recently, macroalgae of east and west Kamchatka, Commander Islands and North
Kurile Islands were illustrated and described by N.G. Klochkova et al. (2009).
Investigation of the laminarian flora of Russian Far East has begun in 19th century,and by 1950-es twenty six laminarian species from 10 genera were recorded. A big
contribution was made by Yu. Petrov (Komarov Botanical Institute, Rus. Acad. Sci.),
who described the following laminarian taxa from this region:– Four new monotypic genera and their species, such as Phyllariella ochotensis,
Costularia kurilensis (currently: Costulariella kurilensis), Feditia simuschirensis andUndariella kurilensis;– Three new species of Laminaria: L. appressirhiza, L. inclinatorhiza and L.
multiplicata;– A new family, Arthrothamnaceae, which included the genus Arthrothamnus
comprising 2 species.
Yu. Petrov also excluded the following previously recorded kelp species from thelist of Russian Far Eastern flora: Laminaria agardhii, L. saccharina, L. digitata, L.
bullata, L. nigripes, L. ruprechtii, and Postelsia palmaeformis.

Yu. Petrov’s contribution to the knowledge of Russian kelp cannot be underestimated.
However, he also made several presumptions, which seem not quite supported by thedata from the field observations. Still, his opinion is dominant among Russian
phycologists regarding the taxonomy of kelp species.
For example, he synonymized the following taxa with Laminaria bongardiana orsuggested them to be its forms: Hedophyllum subsessile, Hedophyllum spirale,
Streptophyllum spirale, Laminaria taeniata, Laminaria groenlandica and Laminaria
subsimplex.
He also reported that species Laminaria saccharina, which was listed for Russian Far
Eastern flora by other researchers, was in fact not distributed in our waters. He
suggested that the specimens previously recorded as L. saccharina were misidentified.
Therefore, he assigned all plants that looked similar and were previously identified as L.
saccharina to a special form of another Laminaria, which was known as an endemic of
the northwest Okhotsk flora – Laminaria gurjanovae (A. Zinova 1964, 1969). This newform was named by him as Laminaria gurjanovae f. lanciformis. However, whendescribing this form, he neither published pictures or photos of the type specimen, nor
mentioned how many specimens were examined. In the form’s diagnosis, he wrote only
one sentence “Blade lanceolate, linear-lanceolate or oval, with cuneate or roundishbasis”.
After studying kelp flora of South Kurile islands, Yu. Petrov also combined species L.
longissima with L. angustata, reducing the first taxon to a synonym of the second one.
Furthermore, he described a new form, L. angustata f. sibirica, for a particular group ofplants from the middle Primorskij region (Sea of Japan). However, when describing thisform, he neither published pictures or photos of the type specimen nor mentioned how
many specimens were examined.
He also revised the genus Alaria in Russian Far East. According to his opinion,
species previously reported from this region, such as Alaria crassifolia, A. crispa, A.
dolichoraches, A. esculenta, A. lanceolata, A. laticosta, A. membranacea, A. praelonga,
A. pylaii, A. taeniata, A. tenuifolia, and A. valida, should be reduced to synonymy orregarded as wrongfully identified. Current list of Far Eastern species of Alaria
comprises А. macroptera, A. marginata, A. angustata, A. ochotensis and А. fistulosa(currently: Eualaria fistulosa).
Assignment of research problems
From the personal algal floristic and taxonomic investigations we assume that Yu.
Petrov’s opinion regarding several kelp species was not correct and not properlysupported by the experimental data and filed observations. One major problem concerns
species Laminaria gurjanovae from Okhotsk Sea and L. bongardiana (currently:
Saccharina bongardiana) from Kamchatka.
According to Yu. Petrov, Laminaria gurjanovae comprises 2 forms – L. gurjanovae f.
gurjanovae (i.e. forma typica) and Laminaria gurjanovae f. lanciformis. Species L.
gurjanovae was originally described by A. Zinova (1964, 1969) and is known as anendemic of the Sea of Okhotsk, with type locality in Aniva Inlet on western Sakhalin
Island. We found this species in Taujskaya Bay (northern continental coast of the Sea of
Okhotsk), at depths of 9–11 m. In our collecting site, L. gurjanovae formed
communities with a density of 4–7 plants per 1 m2, covering 40–60% of the sea bottom
on average.
We also found the taxon, which Yu. Petrov called as L. gurjanovae f. lanciformis. In
Taujskaya Bay, this species was the most abundant and widely distributed, occurring in thesubtidal and low intertidal areas. It grew on various hard substrates and could also grow onsilt at depths of 20–25 m if some small pebbles and cobbles were present. Under favorable
conditions, it formed mono-species communities with a biomass of 40–50 kg per 1 m2.
Yu. Petrov did not demonstrate type specimen of L. gurjanovae f. lanciformis upon
publishing this form. We located the type specimen in the Komarov Botanical Institute(herbarium code: LE), as well as the type specimen of L. gurjanovae f. gurjanovae.
These two specimens look very different from each other, strongly presuming that they
are different species, rather than different forms of the same species. Our observationsof the age and seasonal changes in two forms from the Sea of Okhotsk demonstrated
that the typical plants of L. gurjanovae (i.e. forma typica) had quite unique and very
stable morphological, anatomical and ecological characteristics. Same characteristics
were not found in the plants, which were attributed to L. gurjanovae f. lanciformis;
however they too had very stable and unique characteristics. We presume that species L.
gurjanovae does not have forms, such as f. gurjanovae and f. lanciformis, but these are
two separate species.
Regarding the taxon Laminaria bongardiana (currently: Saccharina bongardiana),
we have recorded the live longevity of its form called S. bongardiana f. taeniata. The
species Laminaria taeniata was described by A. Postels and F. Ruprecht in 1840;
however Yu. Petrov (1972) reduced it to a form of Laminaria bongardiana without
providing enough amounts of data from the field observations to support his argument.
Our field observations showed that S. bongardiana f. taeniata have shorter live
longevity comparing to the plants of the typical form, S. bongardiana f. bongardiana.
Also, their distribution areas do not coincide and f. taeniata occurs in very differenthabitats on the Far East, and therefore cannot be regarded as a result of ecologicalvariability of S. bongardiana f. bongardiana. We presume that these are two separate
species.
Another form of S. bongardiana, f. bifurcatа (Petrov 1972), also cannot be
considered as a taxonomic category because of the following argument. We haveobserved that on the 3-rd year of life some blades of the typical form (i.e. f.
bongardiana) develop specific morphology, which is a characteristic key character for f.
bifurcatа. Therefore, this so-called characteristic morphology of f. bifurcatа seems toresult from the morphological changes of the typical plants (i.e. S. bongardiana f.
bongardiana) according to age. If so, separation of the two forms has no ground.
In conclusion, investigation of the kelp species is one of the major research problems
in Russian Far East. Especially, Sea of Okhotsk and Arctic Russia were named asregions of the world still not comprehensively studied, where systematic studies remainmorphologically based and there has been little recent work (Bolton 2010), i.e.
phylogenetically based systematics. It should be emphasized that for many algal taxa
distributed in these regions, including endemics and commercially important kelp
species, information on morphology and anatomy and differences in the morphogenesisof species and their forms is very limited. These basic studies are essential because
incomplete understanding of genus- or species-specific (or species form-specific)
morphology and anatomy can lead to a wrongful presumption of the existence or
non-existence of a taxon. We briefly discussed current problems with two species,
Laminaria gurjanovae and Saccharina bongardiana. Another example is Laminaria
multiplicata Petrov et Suchovejeva that was often cited in floristic lists of the Sea of
Okhotsk based on its first record in 1976 and referred to as rare endemic species.
Detailed morphological analysis of the type and paratype specimens and long-term
surveys of the type locality and proximate bays and inlets have not confirmed theexistence of such entity at all (Klochkova et al. 2010). Therefore, detailed re-evaluationof previous floristic studies based on morphological and anatomical characteristics
should be carried out comprehensively for all kelp taxa in Russian Far Eastern region.

Present situation and assignment of biodiversity research on kelp in Korea
Sung Min Boo
Department of Biology
Chungnam National University
Youseong Gu, Daejeon, 305-764 Korea
smboo@cnu.ac.kr
The Korean peninsula has a rich diversity of marine algae due to diverse habitats andthe mixing of both warm and cold currents. In the first catalogue of marine algae, Kang
(1966) listed 422 taxa, and then the species number increased to 627 taxa by Lee &Kang (1986). It is surprising for approximately 900 marine algae to be listed in Koreanwaters. Many species are familiar to Korean people because of their use forsea-vegetables. Of these, Undaria has been a very popular food material in Korea for avery long time. It has been a strict traditional custom for a woman delivered of a baby tohave Undaria soup three times a day for three weeks, since they believe that Undaria
contains a lots of components which clean up body, in particular, the state of blood.
Undaria soup has also been a menu that should be unmistakeably prepared for every
birthday soup. It is therefore considered that Undaria is an emotional and cultural
species for Koreans.
A total of seven genera and 13 species are recognized in the Laminariales in Korea.
All species are easily collected on Korean coasts. With my students, I have studied onmolecular systematics of kelp from Korea and surrounding waters. The first molecularsystematics was phylogenetic relationships of Undaria based on sequences of RuBisCO
spacer (Yoon & Boo 1999). This study indicates that U. pinnatifida, U. petersenia, andU. undarioides are very closely related, hypothesizing a reticulate evolution among thespecies. In addition, we expanded this work to the whole Laminariales genera using ITS
and RuBisCO spacer sequences (Yoon et al. 2001). Our analyses indicate that all taxa in
the Alariaceae, Laminariaceae,
and Lessoniaceae form a monophyletic lineage (the Laminariales sensu stricto). The
phylogenetic
analyses show that the kelps form eight well-supported clades (represented by Egregia,
Laminaria, Hedophyllum,Macrocystis, Alaria, Agarum, Ecklonia, and Lessonia) that
conform to the tribes of the current morphological classification system of the“advanced” kelps. Our recent study on Agasum showed the low degree of substitutions

between A. clathratum and A. yakishiriense, suggesting their recent divergence from acommon ancestor, and we recognize the latter as a subspecies of the former (Fig. 1.,
Boo et al. 2011).
To date we have been studying on phylogeography of Costaria costata from Korea
and surrounding waters. We analyzed the mitochondrial-coding cob and cox3 genes andthe nuclear noncoding internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region from specimens
throughout the distributional range of the species. Preliminary results revealed many
haplotypes in cob, cox3, and the ITS region. Analyses of cob, cox3, and ITS dataconsistently divided C. costata into two divergent clades: a northwest Pacific group anda north-east Pacific group, and these two groups are genetically isolated based on geneflow test. Our results suggest that the northwest Pacific might play an important role ingenerating diversity in this genus. We discuss evolutionary processes that may haveresulted in the current distribution of the two species.
We are also constructing a haplotype map of Undaria pinnatifida along all coasts of
Korea using DNA barcoding markers. The barcoding map of Korean Undaria will
provide a further estimate of the effect of oceanographic changes on the biomass anddistribution.

Fig. 1. Distribution of Agarum species in the world (Boo et al. 2011).

Boo GH, Lindstrom SC, Klochkova, NG, Yotshukura N, Yang EC, Kim HG, Waaland
JR, Cho, GY,
Miller KA & Boo SM (2011). Taxonomy and biogeography of Agarum andThalassiophyllum(Laminariales, Phaeophyceae) based on sequences of nuclear, mitochondrial, andplastid markers. Taxon 60:831-840.
Kang JW (1966) On the geographical distribution of Marine algae in Korea. Bulletin of
Busan Fisheries College, Pusan 7: 1-125.
Lee IK & Kang JW (1986) A checklist of Korean marine algae. Algae (= Korean
Journal of Phycology) 1:311-325.
Yoon HS & Boo SM (1999). Phylogeny of Alariaceae (Phaeophyta) with specialreference to Undaria based on sequences of the RuBisCO spacer region.
Hydrobiologia 398/399: 47-55.
Yoon HS, Lee JY, Boo SM & Bhattacharya D (2001). Phylogeny of Alariaceae,
Laminariaceae, and Lessoniaceae (Phaeophyceae) based on plastid-encoded
RuBisCO spacer and nuclear-encoded ITS sequence comparisons. Molecularphylogenectics and Evolution 21:231-240.

Present situation and assignment of biodiversity research on kelp in China
Shao Jun Pang
Institute of Oceanology
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hanhai Rd, Qingdao, 266071 China
sjpang@qdio.ac.cn
In the most representative 35 Chinese investigation reports about seaweed species
diversity along the Chinese coast from the temperate-cold Liaoning province to thetropical Hainan island from 1980 to 2010, twenty three of them are based on field
investigations, the remaining are summary reports. There are only two related with
sublittoral seaweed flora out of diving investigation in the 1990s. Results in theseinvestigations, plus the records in two of the authority books “common seaweeds in
China” and “Seaweeds in Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea of China”, we have three seaweed
species that belong to the title of Kelps which is described in Wikipedia as “kelps arelarge seaweeds belonging to the brown algae (Phaeophyceae) in the order Laminariales”.
They are Sacharina japonica, Undaria pinnatifida and Ecklonia kurome. The first one isbelieved to be introduced in 1920s from Hokkaido and thereafter spread to the Chinese
coast down to somewhere between Rizhao and Qingdao city. U. pinnatifida is native to
China. Its distribution is recorded from Liaoning province down to Qixing Island in
between Zhejiang and Fujian province in the Eastern China sea. E. kurome is reported tobe native to Lvshun, Liaoning province and also was recorded in Zhejiang province. But
it is rarely seen now days.
By farming, the Chinese produce about 60-800,000 tons (DW) S. japonica eachyear in Liaoning, Shandong and Fujian provinces, about 400,000 tons (FW) U.
pinnatifida each year in the above provinces except the last one. Natural harvest of these
two species can be neglected in comparison to cultivation. Due to the economic
significance, most of the previous diversity studies are centered on these two species,
especially in the past ten years in which molecular markers are becoming moreconvenient to use in elucidating the genetic structure of populations both farmed and in
the wildness.
A few groups’ work that are related with S. japonica diversity studies are, (1) Shi etal. (2006) developed 18 polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers after screening 65
pair of universal primers. The averaged number of alleles at the 18 loci was 4.6 when

judged by use of 53 male and female gametophyte clones from different cultivars; (2)Wang et al., (2010) analyzed 4099 ESTs and found 254 SSRs, from which they designed
63 pairs of primers, after testing, 23 pairs were found to be polymorphic in species in
Laminariales; (3) Shan et al. (2011) used AFLP markers to analyze samples of S.
japonica from 12 populations including six cultivars and six wild populations from theFar east of Russia, Korea and China (north an south). They found a strong genetic
differentiation among the populations and this differences are positively correlated withgeographic distance; (4) Li et al. (2012) screened ESTs of Laminaria digitata and found
83 ESTs that contained SSR and accordingly designed 45 pairs of primers. Finallythirteen of them were successfully used to analyze the genetic structure and relationshipamong cultivars of wild populations of S. japonica isolated from Russia, Japan and
China. For S. japonica in summary, most of the diversity studies are centered on cultivar
analyses, with a trend that the more the population is used in hatchery, the more theoffspring tend to be identical in genotypes. Wild populations were believed to be theoffspring of the early introduced strains or of the farmed populations when they released
spores in the sea at the end of harvesting season. In the subtropical province of Fujian
province, S. japonica could not complete life cycle in nature due to too high watertemperature in summer.
There are few diversity studies of Undaria pinnatifida in China though it is an
important farmed seaweed since 1980s. The morphology of this seaweed is believed tobe largely determined by the abiotic environment. For example, difference in water
current and space limitation (determined by the density of plants at a fixed benthic area)
will lead to completely different blade morphologies of the adults. Very recently,
Shibneva et al. (2013) further confirmed that morphological parameters of adult
Undaria pinnatifida found at different niches are largely due to ontogenetic changes
that were caused by the environment. Thus, again molecular markers are indispensable
in order to present a clearer picture of population diversity. The most comprehensive
and recent study regarding the diversity of farmed and wild populations was done by Li
et al., (2012), in which the authors reported how hatchery practice resulted indifferentiations among cultivars by use of AFLP markers.
Diversity of Kelps on species level, according to the present records in China, islow. There might be more new species living in the largely unexplored sublittoral zones
along the temperate-cold provinces. This remains to be identified in the future. Diversity
variance of kelps on population levels in S. japonica and U. pinnatifida are presently a
hot topic among different phycological research groups. Since the results will tell us the
specific genetic structure of farmed population (cultivar) and its relation with others.

Hybrid vigor has been more and more often used in kelp breeding practice which
involves the use of genetically distant stock materials. It is apparent that such basic
investigation will help breeding more new varieties. Inbreeding depression (ID), whichmostly is resulted from crossing of closely related parental materials, has started to draw
attention for the breeders. This is out of the request by the algal farmers whocomplained that a new cultivar will become not productive after 3-5 years farming inpractice. There has been no data on how depressed a farmed population of either species
is. Also no data on the relation of the decrease in fitness to genetic structure(homozygous vs heterozygous among the parental stocks). Considering the scale andimportance of kelp farming in China for the farmers, research in ID and ways to preventis urgently needed for the future.
Key words: Kelps, Saccharina japonica, Undaria pinnatifida, diversity, cultivation.

Geographical features of the North Pacific for algal distribution
Tsuyoshi Abe
The Hokkaido University Museum
Hokkaido University
Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japantabe@museum.hokudai.ac.jp

Present situation and assignment of ecological diversity research on kelp
Dmitry Galanin
Sakhalin Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography
Komsomolskaya, Sakhalin, 693023 Russia
dgalanin@sakhniro.ru
Saccharina japonica (Laminariales, Phaeophyta) is an important component of thecoastal communities as part of background on one hand and an object for the active
commercial and amateur fishery on the other hand. On Sakhalin its habitat areas arelocated close to the human settlements, so kelp has a great social implication.
The main tasks in studying Saccharina japonica along Sakhalin Island are relatedwith its fisheries importance. The first records about the commercial fishery of
Laminariales (kelp) along Sakhalin Island occur in the works of Yu.P. Schmidt (1905).
The resource studying of the commercial macrophyte species has been started in the
1940s-1950s under the direction of G.I. Gail. Since that time the problems on ecology
and commercial use of kelps began to be posed. In the 1950s-1970s the researcher of
TINRO V.F. Sarochan had worked on Sakhalin and studied commercial species of theLaminariales genera. Further the annual expeditions of SakhNIRO, including thealgologists Kizevetter I.V., Balkonskaya L.A., Bukhryakova L.K., Shpakova T.A.,
Repnikova A.R., and some other, have surveyed the coastal zone of Sakhalin Island.
The biological state of Saccharina japonica resources along southern Sakhalin has
been monitored more than 50 years in order to use them rationally. These surveys werefocused on the densest kelp fields and traditional fishery. Annually the scientists precise
the boundaries of distribution and density of one-year and two-year kelp assemblages;
collect data on the size-weight structure of kelp covers; estimate a reproductive potentialof the two-year kelp. As a result of these researches, there are annually preparedrecommendations on a rational use of Saccharina japonica resources for the nearest two
years. Besides, recently a great attention was paid to the following lines ofinvestigations. First – studying the abiotic and biotic conditions that affect the formationof Laminariales resources in places of their active fishery. Second – assessing
characteristics of safety that are necessary in food and other processing of raw material.
The surveys are conducted in the basic fishery areas. All the main assemblages of
Saccharina japonica along southern Sakhalin are located mainly between 46 and 49N.
The length of this area along the western coast is about 200 km. Along the eastern coast

the area includes Aniva Bay, southwestern part of Terpeniya Bay, and individual sites ofthe southeastern coast. A total length of the coast with the fields of Saccharina japonica
here is about 270 km. The great latitudinal length of habitat, different geomorphologicalpeculiarities of coasts and hydrological characteristics of Japan and Okhotsk seas create
diversity of biotopes. From the 2012 data the total area covered by Saccharina japonica
along the southwestern Sakhalin coast is 2.78 km2, and in Aniva Bay – 15.8 km2.
The proportion of Saccharina japonica among other macrophytes is not equal. In thewarm seawater areas it competes with Costaria costata and Phyllospadix iwatensis, andin the cold seawater areas with Saccharina cichorioides, Alaria marginata andCystoseira crassipes. On the coastal sites with the high wave activity in the upper
stratum, S. japonica is often accompanied with Alaria marginata. There are significant
differences in the by-depth distribution in different areas. Along the eastern coast
Saccharina japonica occurs between 0 to 10 m, and along the western coast between 0
to 6 m. The commercial covers are concentrated in Aniva Bay up to 5-6 m depth, along
southwestern Sakhalin to 3-4 m. In the cold seawater areas the range of S. japonica
distribution by depths is wider than in the warm seawater areas. More often the width ofkelp covers is 5 to 150 m. Its belt is much narrow along the western coast (15 m on
average) than along the eastern one (55 m on average).
The quantitative characteristics of Saccharina japonica abundance vary greatly
depending on abiotic and biotic factors. Cycling of abundant and non-abundant
generations is observed along the western coast of Sakhalin Island. Sometimes thiscycle can be disturbed. In 2012 the mean density of Saccharina japonica thalli at theage to 1 year was 15 ind./m2 (0.5-67 ind./m2) along southwestern coast, and 20 ind./m2(0.7-342 ind./m2) along the eastern coast. The mean specific density of the two-year
thalli of Saccharina japonica was 23 ind./m2 (3-60 ind./m2) along southwestern coast,and 8 ind./m2 (0.6-22 ind./m2) along the eastern coast. The specific biomass of the
two-year Saccharina japonica in different areas and in different years varied widely;
however, in 2012 its mean values along southwestern and eastern coasts werepractically equal (3.51 kg/m2 and 3.54 kg/m2, respectively).
The sizes and weights of Saccharina japonica thalli vary greatly more often becauseof the environmental conditions. Temperature is the most powerful factor. The
morphometric investigations along the western Sakhalin coast proved clear differences
between “marine” and “lagoon” and also “typical” and “long-stalk” forms of
Saccharina japonica. At the same time it is revealed that the stalk length in a “typical”
form of Saccharina japonica within the traditional fishery area along the southwestern
Sakhalin coast increases consecutively from north to south. From the 2011 and 2012

data, the sizes and weights of the two-year kelp in Aniva Bay are smaller than along thesouthwestern coast. The active growth of Saccharina japonica in length is observed at
the water temperature to 6оС (Shpakova T.A., 1985) that corresponds to the March-May
period along western Sakhalin and April-June in Aniva Bay. There is an interesting factthat some fields, even closely located, are formed by the plants which have serious
differences not only on morphological but also on a genetic level. Thus, similarity of
Saccharina japonica from the two areas of the western Sakhalin coast (CapeBogdanovich and Cape Tukotan) with that from southern Hokkaido is greater than witheach other (Fig. 1).
We continuously study sporogenesis as one of the most important features ofreproduction. In mid July, spore-bearing is observed in a two-year S. japonica all over
the western and southeastern Sakhalin coastlines. However, in July a spore-bearing
tissue occurs in more than 60% of plates in the warm seawater area of the western coast,
whereas in Aniva Bay only in 25%. Further, by mid September, a total of 99% of
plates are observed with the spore-bearing tissue. A distinguishing feature of Saccharina
japonica from the southwestern coast is its ability to form a spore-bearing tissue on thefirst-year plates. It appears in different time in different areas and is positively relatedwith the warm-water phenomenon.
A direct consequence of biological state of Saccharina japonica in its habitat areas isnumbers of the total and commercial biomasses. The data on the current level of
reproduction allow us to predict trends of changes in the total biomass in the nearest
future. However, there are some other important biotic and abiotic factors which canaffect the formation of kelp resources.
Water temperature is a very important regulatory factor of environment. Its fast
increase promotes thallom’s growing in spring, early spore-bearing and thallom’s
disturbance in summer. Annually the water temperature makes conditions for
size-weight characteristics of thalli, and so the number of the total and commercial
biomasses, and also a reproductive potential (Sarochan, 1969, Balkonskaya, Shpakova
1989). A success in reproduction and growth at the early stages of development depend
greatly on hydrochemical conditions in the coastal zone. Concentration of nitrates in
winter and spring seasons is known to affect significantly the formation of kelp biomass(references to Japanese authors). One of the abiotic factors that can catastrophicallyaffect the commercial part of kelp resources is the ice situation; however, such cases are
rare. Along the western Sakhalin coast their frequency is approximately 6-7 years.
Many scientists consider the increase in a specific density of sea urchins as one of theimportant biotic factors that can affect significantly the biomass of kelp covers(references to Japanese authors). The high abundance of sea urchins is related first of allwith hydrological conditions (mainly with the high water temperature) that are
favorable for their existence and reproduction (references to Japanese authors). A
warm-water regime of the area does not fit for growth of kelp biomass. But because of
the increased numbers of sea urchins-phytophags the situation may become worse. In
our opinion, sea urchins can really affect the abundance and biomass of kelps but onlyin the depressed two-stratum community where Laminariaceae and Corallinaceae algae
dominate (Otaru, Japan). However, in the well-developed three- and four-stratum
community where Phyllospadix iwatensis and red algae underbrush occur, the sea
urchins prefer feeding red algae and grass (Reubun Island, Japan and southwestern
Sakhalin, Russia). Thus, in our waters the dynamics of kelp resources depends first of
all not on sea urchin abundance in algal fields but on hydrological conditions.

B
A
Fig. 1 Geographic loci (A) and UPGMA dendrogram (B) of four wild populations (RU1, RU2 from Russia; JA1 and JA2 fromJapan) and eight cultivars (ZK1, ZK2, BN, 901, DF2, DF3, LZ and GW were cultivated in China) based on Nei’s unbiased genetic
distances.

Present situation and assignment of diversity conservation research on kelp bed on
the coast of northern end of Honshu Island, Japan.
Shinji Kirihara
Department of Agriculture, forestry and Fisheries
Aomori Prefectural government
Kuroishi, Aomori, 036-0522 Japan
shinji_kirihara@pref.aomori.lg.jp
Fluctuations in distribution of Laminarialean species.
The Cape Ohma region of Shimokita Peninsula, the northernmost point of Honshu
Island, Japan, is subject to both the warm Tsugaru Current and the cold Kurile Current.
As a result, the Laminarialean flora includes both cold temperature species (Saccharina
japonica (J.E. Areschoug) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders,
Kjellmaniella crassifolia Miyabe and Costaria costata (C. Agardh) Saunders) and warm
temperature species (Undaria peterseniana (Kjellman) Okamura, Ecklonia stolonifera
Okamura), as well as Undaria pinnatifida (Yendo) Okamura, which is distributed inboth waters. The frequency of occurrence (as a measure of distribution) and the biomassof these species were recorded in June 1976 (at 50 points in depths between 8-30 m),
July 1988 (192 points, 2.5-25 m) and July 2001 (78 points, 2.5-25 m). Comparison ofthese data revealed a decrease in cold temperature species and an increase in warm
temperature species from 1976 or 1988 to 2001.
Long-term data of seawater temperature measured at 5 m depth near the study site
showed that mean temperatures in the middle of winter (late January to February) in
1989-2000 were 0.9-1.1 oC higher than those in 1980-1988. Higher seawatertemperatures in the last decade appear to have affected the frequency of occurrence andbiomass of the Laminarialean species along the coasts of Cape Ohma.
This result supported our previous conclusion that 1 oC higher mean seawatertemperature in late January caused a decrease in the biomass of S. japonica (by ca.
64%) along the same coast.
Restoration of kelp bed from “ISOYAKE-BA”.
The restoration techniques of kelp bed by S. japonica communities from sea
urchin-dominated ground “ISOYAKE-BA” and useless perennial algae-dominated area
were researched on the coasts of Shimokita Peninsula. The population ofStrongylocentrotus nudus (A. Agassiz) of 60,000–194,000 individuals was removed
from the area of 1.2-4.15ha in each year of 1994-2001. The colonies of S. japonica
occurred on February and dominated after March 1995 on the area where sea urchinswere removed on September 1994. The biomass of the S. japonica became 10.1kg/m2
on June 1996, while the natural seabed around the removal area was “ISOYAKE-BA”
continuously. The dominant communities of S. japonica were also restored on otherseven removal areas.
E. stolonifera communities were removed from the area of 1-25 ㎡ on October 1995,
November 1996 and each month of November 1997 to March 1998. S. japonica
communities were re-constructed on the removal areas where E. stolonifera
communities had been removed on November and December. On the other hand, on theareas where they had been removed from January to March, useless algae of fucalean
species occurred. From these results, on the coasts of northern end of Honshu Island,
kelp bed by S. japonica can be re-constructed by removal of S. nudus population fromthe “ISOYAKE-BA” or removal of useless perennial algae on December or before, as
shown in the following figure.

Present situation and assignment of diversity utilization research on kelp
Tadashi Kawai
Wakkanai Fisheries Experimental Station
Hokkaido Research Organization
Wakkanai, Hokkaido, 097-0001 Japankawai-tadashi@hro.or.jp
1. Kelp forest ensure species diversity
Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, has some ocean current, Tsushima warm current, and theirbranch current, Soya warm current Tsugaru warm current, Oyashio cold current. Various
sea currents make different type kelp forest, Hokkaido have number of kind kelp forests.
Also, diverse water movement makes various shape of kelp. There is longer andnarrower kelp grow at mouth of bay, whereas kelp is wider at inner part of bay.
Longevity of kelp depend on water temperature, in general kelp live two-year, however,warmer area, southwest coast of Hokkaido, lifetime of kelp is annual.
Kelp forest maintain rich species diversity of sea algae, in fact, we can see manykinds of algae into kelp forest, also we can collect extremely diverse and voluminous
invertebrate species from kelp forest, especially their holdfast. Smaller fishes wereattracted the kelp forest to eat the invertebrate, then larger fish eater come it the place,
finally seals and other small sea mammals nurse
their babies in the kelp forest. They knew thatkelp forest is good nursery groundIf the kelp forest extends for deeper area, it
makes diversity of invertebrate and fish in thatarea.
2. Diversity of utilization
In Hokkaido, during Edo period, Ainu (native aboriginean in Hokkaido) fish the kelp toexport for Honshu, so Edo Shogunate (former government during Edo Era) develop the
kelp recourse as important exported goods. Since Edo period, kelp have utilized inJapanese people as traditional and historical foods, but recent year, production volume
of kelp sharply decrease and to be less than 20000 ton. Now, we use several kinds ofkelp, Shaccharina japonica, S. longissima, S. coriacea, S. sculpera, Arthrothamnus
bifidus, S. longissima, dominate the production of kelp.

Kelp fisherman have two fishing route, the first is catch from natural sea shore usingfishing gear, second one is artificial aquaculture. Plus, the aquaculture has one year
cycle and two year cycle.We generally fish two-year-old kelp in peak period of eachyear (generally August), however, some area in eastern Hokkaido, fisherman collect
before the highest period of fisheries. They catch younger kelp it was so-called“Saomae”, it means that before fishing gear using. The Saomae is shorter but it more
tasty. In fishing ground, various kinds of hook used for collecting kelp, based on depthof kelp forest, density or length of kelp. Most suitable hook is selected in each fishingground.
Kelp is used for Japanese traditional foods, especially ”Sashi (flavor base of soup)”
every moring in Japan, Japanese people take Miso-soup with Dashi, kelp make Japanesetraditional foods culture. Recently, new utilization of kelp was discovered, “functional
food (fucoidan)”, medical science focused for kelp.
Fisheries maketing need stable providing of kelp, artificial kelp culture help stabilityof production and making reasonable price. Otherwise, natural kelp made higher
expensive kelp bland. Kelp has divers values.

3. Diversity of contribution for primary production
Kelp forest help have higher biomass, it make high primary production. It always use
for spawning bed of the herring, also juvenile or young fish swimming into kelp bed.
Those fishes attract large fish eaters, sometime small mammals nurse their babies inkelp bed.
However, recently southwestern Hokkaido,
kelp forest is limiting at very shallower area,
almost kelp bed were disappeared, it so-call“Isoyake”. Recent study reveals that warmer
and poor nutrient seawater bring Isoyake
phenomenon.

4. Various ecosystem service
Kelp forest can stock voluminous “N” and ”CO2”, and also peoples in Hokkaido(especially family including children) enjoyed in beach shore along kelp bed during
summer season. Every summer, almost junior school or elementary school takes theirschoolboy into beach near kelp bed for social education. It make familiar for kelp andneed for study of regional nature and industry (kelp fisheries) and culture. Also highschool and university students often visit
seashore to study biology of marine organism
into kelp bed, their species diversity help
studying marine biology. Kelp provides various
ecosystem services.

Novel uses of kelp in Canada
Rae Hopkins
Canadian Kelp Resources
Port Desire, Bamfield, BC, V0R-1B0 Canada
rhopkins@island.net
Unique elements in the Northeast Pacific kelp flora, particularly Macrocystis pyrifera(Giant Kelp) and Nereocysitis leutkeana (Bull Kelp), have inspired the creation of new
culinary uses (kelp sushi wraps, kelp chips, kelp swizzle sticks to name a few), works ofart, wearing apparel, musical inspiration and spa resources. British Columbia
long-line farming, employing a continuous seeding method, allows for the efficient
production of kelp for industrial extraction (for example, fucoxanthin, fucoidan) and foraquaculture feed for abalone and sea urchins (1). Presently, long-line kelp farming isbeing explored as an important element in marine polyculture and as a means of
de-nutrifying seawater surrounding salmon rearing pens (2,3). Long-ling farming may
provide material of biofuel production (4). Continuous long-line kelp farming isachieved by winding 20 m seeded string around a farm rope (Figs.1,2). Numerous
kelp species can be farmed in this manner (Figs.3-6). Production on the continuous
long-line kelp cultivation can range from 5-45 wet kg kelp per meter cultivation rope
(Table 1.).

Figure 1. A spool of 20
m of seeded string.

Figure 2. Seeding a 20 m cultivation rope.

Figure 3. Young farmed Alaria marginata.

Figure 4. Mature farmed Saccharina latissima

Figure 5. Young farmed Nereocystis leutkeana.

Table 1. FARMED KELP BIOMASS PRODUCTION(wet kg kelp per meter of cultivation rope)

Figure 6. Young farmed Macrocystis pyrifera

Nereocystis leutkeana (Bull Kelp)

5-22 kg

Merrill & Gillingham

Saccharina latissima (Sugar Kelp)

8-29 kgKain, Druehl

Sacchasrina groenlandica (Tangle)

9-24 kg

DruehlSaccharina japonica (Kombu)

8-24 kg

Kawashima

Alaria esculenta (Winged Kelp)

7-12 kg

Kain

Alaria hybraid (Winged Kelp)

45 kg

Kraan

Undarin pinnataifida (Wakame)

5-10 kg

Akiyama

REFERENCES& Kurogi
Druehl, L.D., R. Baird, a. Lindwall, K. E. Lloyd, & S. Pakula (1988). Aquacult. Fish.
Management 19:253-263.
Cross, S.F. (2005). Aquaculture Update no. 94.
Chopin, T. (2006). Northern Aquaculture, July/August, p. 4.
Nixon, D. (2010). Canadian Report on Fuel Ethanol, 5: no. 1.

Novel use of kelp in Japan
Yasunori Kinoshita
Hokkaido Industrial Technology Center
Hakodate, Hokkaido, 041-0801 Japankinoshita@techakodate.or.jp
Kombu (Saccharina) is brown seaweeds that have been used for many years in Japan. It
is mostly used in the dried form. On the one hand, boiled and salted wakame (Undaria
pinnatifida) is often used as fresh food in Japan. However, there is very little knowledgeof kombu in its fresh form. Consequently, the researchon the novel use of kombu as fresh food is now going.
Firstly, we tried to develop a method for objective
evaluation of the quality of raw kombu. The browncolor of raw kombu changes to brilliant light green
upon boiling and this property is lost upon storage.
This is a good index for evaluating the quality of raw
kombu. Raw kombu (S. japonica var. religiosa, S.
japonica var. japonica, S. sculpela) blades showed Fig.1 Reflectance spectrum profiles
maximum reflectance at 600 nm and the peak shifted to of kombu before and after boiling.
560 nm upon boiling (Fig.1). The 560/600 nm reflectance ratio for the boiled blades
decreased gradually upon storage. The changes in this value and the visual color had asimilar pattern. These results show that the quality of the raw kombu can be evaluatedby measuring the reflectance ratio of the boiled blades (greenish index: GI). For
wakame, the blades showed maximum reflectance at 580 nm and the peak shifted to 560
nm upon boiling. These results indicate that it isnecessary to use a wavelength specific to the genus forevaluation of raw seaweed.
Secondly, to develop quality control technology of raw
kombu, the effects of oxygen and temperature on thechange in quality of them was studied using the GI.
Kombu (S. japonica var. religiosa) blades were stored ina plastic bag at various concentrations of oxygen at 5ºC
with shielding from light. Storage of kombu blades inoxygen maintained a high GI (560/600 nm reflectanceFig. 2 Change in greenish index ofkombu during the storage at 5 ºC
under different atmosphericconditions ( O2 (○), Air (∆), N2 (□)).

ratio) for 21 days (Fig.2), with a bright green color obtained upon boiling, similarly tothat before storage. In contrast, the GI for kombu blades stored with nitrogen gas
decreased upon storage and the bright color was lost. Respiration activity by kombu
blades during storage in air was proved by the consumption of oxygen and productionof carbon dioxide. In storage in oxygen, the standard plate count did not increase.
Incidentally, storage of wakame blades under the same conditions resulted in changes in
GI (560/580 nm reflectance ratio) and color changes that were essentially the same as
those for kombu. These results demonstrate that storage of raw kombu in oxygen at low
temperature to suppress respiratory activity is effective for maintenance of quality.

Long-term variation in distribution of konbu (Saccharina) beds along coasts of
Hokkaido, Japan
Kentaro Watanabe
Akkeshi Marine Station
Hokkaido University
Akkeshi, Hokkaido, 088-1113 Japan
payoonkentaro@gmail.com
Costal ecosystems represented by seaweed beds, seagrass beds and coral reefs provide
habitats for various animals and plants. They are also known to exert high ecosystem
functions such as biological production and carbon fixation, tourist resources. However,recent deterioration of biodiversity and ecosystem functions in these habitats is serious
concern as represented by rocky-shore denudation and coral bleaching. Analyses oflong-term variation in costal ecosystems are necessary to evaluate the human-induced
impacts and to plan effective conservation protocols.
We analyzed long-term change in biodiversity of konbu (Saccharina) and area of
konbu beds, using data of five-times interviews conducted by Ministry of theEnvironment and Hokkaido government between 1970's and 2000's. We analyzed thesimilarities of species diversity among coastal cities based on records of species
occurred. As a result, four groups were distinguished; (1) along the Pacific coast ofeastern Hokkaido, (2) along Hidaka to Funkawan Bay, (3) along Oshima to Ishikari, and(4) along Ishikari via Wakkanai to Shiretoko. The group 1 showed highest biodiversity.
The observed variation in species diversity probably reflect biogeographic pattern in
relation to different ocean currents. We also compared konbu bed area in each coastal
local governmental unit, and found that konbu bed area decreased in many regions,especially in southern part of Hokkaido. We also evaluated the effect of watertemperature in winter and summer on the variation of konbu bed area in each area
between 2000 and 2009, using GLM. However, apparent effect on temperature was notdetected. Longer-term data incorporating records of museum specimens may shed lighton the factors affecting the decline in kombu beds in future studies. We will also
introduce The Biological Information System for Marine Life (BISMaL), which is a
web-based data system for biodiversity information, particularly in biogeographic dataof marine organisms including kelps.

Approach to elucidation of genetic diversity of Saccharina japonica in northernpart of Japan based on DNA fingerprinting
Takashi Maeda
Graduate School of Environmental Science
Hokkaido University
Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810 Japan
takashi-maeda@fsc.hokudai.ac.jp
Saccharina japonica is divided to four varieties and, in northern part of Japan that is thecenter of distribution of this species in the world, any variety is growing at its regional
area. This species known to constitute the marine forests in the coastal areas is theprimary producer in the marine ecosystem. Furthermore, it has been used as a precious
foodstuff, and the commercial value has been decided according to variety that the
product belongs to. And not only that, even within a variety, the value between products
changes greatly depending on the production area because each populations are
ecologically and morphological different. Therefore, to obtain the knowledge of genetic
diversity in distribution area must be significant for biodiversity conservation andmanagement of fishery resources. It seems that DNA fingerprinting is effective tool tostudy genetic differences between local populations. On the other hands, the analysis
with fingerprinting needs high quality
DNA to obtain reproducible results.
Therefore, to extract pure DNA isindispensable.
However,sincesaccharinan kelp contains a large
amount of polyphenol and viscous
polysaccharides such as alginic acid andfucoidan,the extraction of pure DNA
from kelp samples is not easy because
of interference by these substances. In aprevious study, the effective DNA
extraction method was developed. Thistime, we provide a technique for effective
DNA extraction method, and results
obtained by Amplified fragment length

Fig. 1 The relationship of genetic similarity coefficient andGenetic

differentiation

betweenpopulations.

Solid

line

represents sorted population based on S. Short-dashes line
represents sorted population based on Gst.

polymorphism (AFLP) analysis.
As a result of the analysis, genetic difference was detected between local populations
by AFLP analysis. Furthermore, less frequently, several unique fragments that might beable to detect the difference of variety were found out in some areas. It is recognizedthat genetic similarity coefficient (S) between local population was correlated with
regional continuity. Some local populations (i.e. 8-23, 4-7 in Fig. 1) were grouped by S.
These populations were further divided according to genetic differentiation coefficient(Gst), and each of segmentalized groups has limited distribution area. It seemed thatgenetic differentiations of these segmentalized groups were caused by current flowing
along the coast of Hokkaido.
AFLP is helpful tools for detecting genetic diversity in S japonica because of theconvenient means and the abundant information. However, because it is impossible todistinguish heterozygous and homozygous, we developed micro-satellite marker(co-dominant marker) to get more information such as genetic exchange between local
populations. We continue the study to investigate and elucidate genetic diversity with
AFLP and microsatellite marker analysis.

Spatial estimation of the kelp forests (Sacchaina spp.) distributions in coastal
waters of Aomori, Japan, using acoustic method
Huamei Shao
Graduate School of Environmental Science
Hokkaido University
Hakodate, Hokkaido, 041-8611 Japanhuamshao@ees.hokudai.ac.jp
Sea desertification happened in recent years with increasing of seawater temperatureand feeding damage by sea urchin and other animals living on seaweed in kelp forests,
which has negative influence on coastal kelp fisheries and ecosystem. In coastal waters
off Shimokita Peninsula, Aomori, Japan, sea desertification was reported as a serious
problem and the solution is being discussed, current situation and change trend of kelp
forests (Sacchaina spp.) is important. In order to prevent sea desertification expansion
and recovering kelp forests, estimation of the spatial distribution and standing crop isnecessary. Until now, the data on seaweed distribution were most from visualobservation and aerial photography costing a lot of time, effort and observation limit
due to depth. The objective of this study is to get spatial distribution and thickness ofkelp forests in wide region using acoustic method in coastal waters off Shimokita
Peninsula, Aomori, Japan. The surveys were conducted in the coastal waters off
Shiriyazaki (8-9th November, 2011 and 5th November, 2012) and Ishimochi (11-14th
June, 2012 and 6-8th November, 2012), Aomori, Japan. The survey areas were 0.38km2
and 6.22km2, respectively. Data on the presence/absence and thickness of kelp forests
were collected via acoustic observation on transects using an on-board small
quantitative echosounder (KCE-300, Sonic Co. Tokyo) at 120 kHz by the fishery boatwith speed about 3knots. Acoustic data were geostatistically interpolated, and the areas
covered by kelp forests were estimated. Kelp forests distribution was analyzed from two
different steps using Geographic Information System software (ArcGIS Ver.9 ESRI
Inc.). Presence or absence of the forest patches and the variation in thickness among thepresent forest patches was analyzed. On the same time, identification of kelp forest fromother seaweed and sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus nudus) inhabitation information was
got by visual observation using underwater camera. Marine environments data werecollected by Compact-CTD (Alec Electronics Co. Kobe). In the present study, theaverage thickness of kelp forests from acoustic data in Shiriyazaki was 0.45m in 2011
and 0.44m in 2012, kelp distribution area was 23% and 43% of survey area. While, in
Ishimochi, the average thickness and kelp distribution area proportion of survey area
was 0.72m, 22% in spring, 0.37m and 0.01% in autumn which is less than in spring.
More than 80% kelp forests living in water depth below 15m and sea urchin average
size was below 6cm in survey areas. Different kelp distribution feature, substrate andsea urchin inhabitation was certified between Shiriyazaki and Ishimochi. Sea urchinbarren is occurring in Shiriyazaki area and sand substrate and turbidity was considered
the reasons in Ishomochi. In order to evaluate fisheries and ecosystem, continuous
monitoring is necessary for kelp forests and marine environment change tendency.

Key words
Acoustic method, geostatistical analysis, kelp forests, sea desertification

A taxonomic
Phaeophyceae)

re-examinationof

Saccharina

longipedalis(Laminariales,

Nobu Nagai
Graduate School of Environmental Science
Hokkaido University
Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810 Japan
penguin@ec.hokudai.ac.jp
Saccharina longipedalis that is an endemic kelp
species around Lake Akkeshi that is brackish lake,in eastern Hokkaido has a morphological feature
with a long stipe. It is reported that this species isclosely related to S. japonica by DNA sequencing(ITS and RuBisCo spacer) and the comparison.
However, for re-examination of taxonomy on thiskelp, more information has been requested. In thisstudy, outward morphology and genetic diversity Figure 1 Collecting sites in this study.
were investigated using sporophytes collected atseven sites around distribution boundary of S. longipedalis and S. japonica in Akkeshi(i.e. S. japonica var. diabolica). Furthermore, cross experiment between seedling fromthe sites was performed.
The morphological variation
Figure 2
was noticeable among the
Sporophyte collectedsporophytes even from one site.
Average measuring value of blade
thickness and stipe length of
Figure 3
samples collected at Lake
Sporophyte collected
Akkeshiweredifferent
at Akkeshi Bay.
significantly from those from theother sites. Meanwhile, no or a little genetic variation was detected in 5S rDNA spacer
and tested microsatellite regions among the samples from the all seven sites. The Dice
Similarity Coefficient (S) in AFLP analysis was generally high between samples in thisat Lake Akkeshi.

study, and the value including S. japonica var. diabolica from several populations in
Rausu and Nemuro corresponded to that in a variety of S. japonica. As the result ofcross experiment, fertilization and normal early development of the young sporopyte
were confirmed in all the combinations.
This time, a couple of diagnostic morphological characteristics of sporophyte from
Lake Akkeshi were confirmed. However, from the little genetic divergence in not only
ITS and RuBisCo spacer but also 5S rDNA spacer and several microsatellite regions
between S. longipedalis and S. japonica and the result of cross experiment, it isappropriate that S. longipedalis is included in S. japonica. The discriminative
morphology with long stipe of sporophyte from Lake Akkeshi seems to be influenced
by the physical environment there. In consideration of genetic similarity by AFLP
analysis, we conclude that S. longipedalis should be treated as S. japonica var.
diabolica.