**5. Conclusions**

• Historical records of sargasso go back to centuries XV to XXI, not only in the Sargasso Sea but also throughout the Caribbean. Although there is also a pre-Hispanic record

**83**

**Acknowledgements**

Museum of Denmark.

*A Natural History of Floating* Sargassum *Species (Sargasso) from Mexico*

population genetic studies may shed further light on it.

species (sargasso) still require further research.

• The taxonomy of the genus *Sargassum* and the position of the pelagic *Sargassum*

• The absence of sexual reproduction is an enigma; further life-cycle studies and

• In the past sargasso has been used to treat urinary tract problems, to facilitate delivery, and also as food; it may be worthwhile to follow this up with further

• Sargasso in the open ocean is a Golden Tide, sustaining and providing energy for a diverse community, and serving as a nursery or refuge for commercially

• Sargasso may be an important sink of organic carbon, helping to mitigate

• The sargasso blooms in the NERR (North Equatorial Recirculation Region) since 2011, creating the Great Atlantic Sargasso Belt, are likely the new normal

• Likely causes of this bloom are thought to be (a combination of) changes in prevailing winds and currents due to Climate Change and increasing nutrient

• Sargasso, although capable to persist in the oligotrophic Sargasso Sea, also has the capacity to rapidly respond to increasing nutrients that may have contrib-

• Massive quantities of beached sargasso create the Sargasso Brown Tides caus-

• Better understanding of the species, the movements of the rafts in the ocean, and new research into valorization, are necessary to create novel strategies of

• Mexico has been working on the following mitigation actions: strengthening of monitoring programs, removal of oceanic and coastal sargasso, regulation plan for the deposit of sargasso, creation of a monetary fund, and increasing

The authors thank Dr. Michael J. Wynne for reviewing the manuscript, Martha García Sánchez for providing us with the live sargasso images. Thanks to Dr. Nina Lundholm for providing Liebmann's herbarium specimens from the Natural History

into the NERR from changes in upwelling and land-runoff.

uted to the bloom of these algae in the NERR

adaptation to the recent blooms of sargasso.

integration of national knowledge and capacities.

ing major havoc to ecosystems and local economies.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97230*

important or iconic species.

global climate change.

condition for the region.

research.

*Natural History and Ecology of Mexico and Central America*

**Research**

Paints Wood varnish Salgax Biotecnología

Paper products & fertilizer

Cytotoxic, antiproliferative, and antiprotozoal

stress

extract

fertilizer

Phycocolloids Alginate, fucoidans &

*Current uses of pelagic sargasso of Mexico (Sargassum spp.)*

Fucoidans: Protective effect against oxidative

Hepatoprotective effect of a fucoidan **Name of company / Research institution**

Marina Aplicada S. de

Marina Aplicada S. de

Sarganico Productos sustentables

Department of Marine Resources, Unidad Mérida, Yucatan (CINVESTAV)

Dianco México [109, 116]

R.L de C.V

R.L de C.V

Hospital de Especialidades, I. García Téllez, National Medical Center, Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS)

Hospital de Especialidades, I. García Téllez, National Medical Center (IMSS)

Alquimar [108]

Antileishmanial CINVESTAV [121]

Fucoidans Alquimar [108]

Paper, notebooks Salgax Biotecnología

**Ref.**

[111]

[111]

[117]

[118]

[119]

[120]

**Use End product /** 

Paper and cardboard

Pharmaceuticals & biomedical

products

which can contaminate groundwater. As we can see, there are still enormous challenges to overcome. However, developing an ecological pretreatment method by incorporating the use of low-cost ionic resins to remove contaminants and promote cell fracture by solubilizing the polymers contained in sargasso would be methods that could be explored in the future and also the biorefineries concept; based on sargasso in Mexico, which would produce a feasible techno-economic model for the

Creating a political or governance framework to manage the influx of sargasso and standards for the comprehensive management of sargasso and the availability of funds will be challenged to achieve in the future. It is our duty to encourage entrepreneurship, incorporating the newest scientific and technological

• Historical records of sargasso go back to centuries XV to XXI, not only in the Sargasso Sea but also throughout the Caribbean. Although there is also a pre-

**82**

advancements..

**Table 2.**

**5. Conclusions**

Hispanic record

region (Paula Sánchez. Com. per.).

