Provision of ecosystem services
Wild and cultured seaweeds play a significant role in provision of
ecosystem services, such as habitat for other marine organisms,
mitigation of climate change, localized control of ocean acidification
and bioremediation for coastal pollution (3, 22).Also, Seaweeds as an
autotroph species, produce energy and food for itself due to the
presence of the chlorophyll(50) and provides food for other marine
animal especially for herbivore that only eat herb such as other marine
plant, algae and seagrass (36, 50). Habitat such as mangrove, coral
reef, and other marine habitat are given by seaweed (51, 52). Brown
algae can make a forest in the ocean. Like as forest, seaweed provide
all what other marine species need. Food, nutrient, energy, and others
(53, 54). On the other hand, seaweed as sensitive organism that can be
used as bioindicators of marine chemical pollution. As a practice
disposal of untreated or partially treated wastewater from household,
aquacultural, industrial and others enters the ocean (55, 56) carrying
materials such as nutrient. Disturbance to nutrient balance in the ocean
cause population leading to increased growth of seaweed, the phenomenon
known as algae bloom which is the bioindicator of marine chemical damage
(57, 58). Therefore, all species of seaweeds available in WIO can
further be utilized to protects the ecosystem. Hence, it is important to
increase scale of seaweed farming in the Western Indian Ocean to provide
for ecosystem balance and protect marine biodiversity. Figure 2summarizes the benefits of seaweeds in marine ecosystem which can be
adopted in Western Indian Ocean for greener ecosystem.