University of Hawai'i University Relations Media & Publications Honolulu, HI 96822	(808) 956-8856 Telephone (808) 956-3441 Facsimile ur@hawaii.edu E-Mail
Contact: Celia Smith, 956-6947	Air Date: June 4, 1998

.Algae are More than a Food or a Nuisance   Mention algae, and most people think about the scummy stuff that coats fish tanks and beach buoys. Some may recall that algae are also the scientific name for the group of water plants that include delicious, edible limu. A few may even have heard that algae extracts are common in cosmetic and food products. But few people realize that algae are also the base of the ocean food chain that gives us ahi and ono. Or that algae actually help stabilize coastal reefs and produces much of the world's oxygen. Celia Smith is doing her best to change that. A botany professor at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Smith emphasizes the importance of algae in the botany and biology classes she teaches. She describes the different types of algae, including the unicellular micro algae, like phytoplankton, and the green, brown and red macro seaweeds seen in Hawaii waters. Smith also conducts algae research, as we'll see in the next University Report, I'm Tracy Orillo Donovan.

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