The University of La Laguna is promoting a project that analyzes a threatened macroalgae, Cystoseira abies-marina, for its conservation.

The University of La Laguna has developed the project “Genetic diversity and conservation statuses of the populations of the threatened marine macrophyte cystoseira abies-marina“.Cystoseira abies-marina is a macroalgae threatened in the marine ecosystems of the East Atlantic, especially in the Canary Islands. In recent decades, there is evidence of the disappearance or decline of previously mapped populations. The Canary Islands is one of the biogeographical regions included in the Natura 2000 Network in Spain, which includes Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), designated in accordance with the Habitat Directive, in which this species grows.

The main results of the project are:

• Populations of Cystoseira abies-marina are distributed along coasts exposed or semi-exposed to waves.
• These populations occupy, in total, 1,287 small patches (less than^4m2), 115 hectares in areas of more than^4m2 and 267 km of borders (between 1 and 2 meters), in an island perimeter of 974 km.
• The comparison of the extent of the populations between 1987 and 2017 on the islands studied shows a reduction of more than 95%.
• La Palma is the island with the greatest genetic variability of those sampled. The highest percentage of genetic variation is found within individuals (68%) and between individuals in populations (17% on islands), while 15% of this variation is due to differences between islands.