Testing the climate intervention potential of ocean afforestation using the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt

Ensuring that global warming remains <2 °C requires rapid CO2 emissions reduction. Additionally, 100–900 gigatons CO2 must be removed from the atmosphere by 2100 using a portfolio of CO2 removal (CDR) methods. Ocean afforestation, CDR through basin-scale seaweed farming in the open ocean, is seen as a key component of the marine portfolio. Here, we analyse the CDR potential of recent re-occurring trans-basin belts of the floating seaweed Sargassum in the (sub)tropical North Atlantic as a natural analogue for ocean afforestation. We show that two biogeochemical feedbacks, nutrient reallocation and calcification by encrusting marine life, reduce the CDR efficacy of Sargassum by 20–100%. Atmospheric CO2 influx into the surface seawater, after CO2-fixation by Sargassum, takes 2.5–18 times longer than the CO2-deficient seawater remains in contact with the atmosphere, potentially hindering CDR verification. Furthermore, we estimate that increased ocean albedo, due to floating Sargassum, could influence climate radiative forcing more than Sargassum-CDR. Our analysis shows that multifaceted Earth-system feedbacks determine the efficacy of ocean afforestation.

The trophic structure of fish in seaweed farms, and adjacent seagrass and coral habitats in Zanzibar, Tanzania

Coral reefs, seagrasses and seaweed farms (Eucheuma denticulatum) are characteristic habitats in many parts of the coast of Zanzibar, Tanzania. However, information on trophic interactions, movements of fish, and variation in fish diet specialization between these habitats are scarce. The present study determined the trophic structure and the variation in diet composition of fish caught in (floating) seaweed farms, and in adjacent seagrass and coral reef habitats in Pongwe, Zanzibar. Fish were caught using traditional basket traps (dema) and gut contents of 392 fish were analyzed. A one-way Analysis of Similarities (ANOSIM) showed that there was a significant difference in the composition of prey items eaten by invertivores in different habitats (Global R = 0.109, p = 0.002.). There was no significant difference in the composition of prey items eaten by herbivores, invertivore-piscivores and omnivores (p > 0.05), likely due to movement of fish between these habitats for foraging. There was no significant difference in the relative proportion of trophic groups between the habitats (p > 0.05) except for herbivores (p < 0.05). Floating seaweed farms attract invertebrates and smaller fish, thus providing feeding grounds for predatory fish, and should be considered as ecologically important habitats as are coral reefs and seagrass beds.