2014 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages 13-20
Caulerpa lentillifera J. Agardh grows in tropical and subtropical regions and it is an important marine product of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and is cultured in onshore tanks all year round. However, the production of this species has been unstable, despite the establishment of cultivation methodology. On the other hand, studies examining the absorption and fixation of increasing carbon dioxide (CO２) to macroalgae continues. This study aims to investigate the growth characteristics of C. lentillifera in CO２-enriched seawater (CSW) to enhance productivity. When it was cultured in CSW7.5mg (containing CO２ of 7.5 mg L-1), daily growth rates (DGR) were stimulated 1.6 times compared to the control (containing CO２ of 0.5 mg L-1). Additionally, under conditions of 24 hours of continuous lighting and continuous inflow of CSW7.5mg , the effect of CO２ on growth enhancement was greater than the control. Based on these results, we tested the method at a commercial cultivation farm for C. lentillifera, and determined that CSW stimulated growth by 1.2 times that of the control.
