Brown Seaweeds (Phaeophyceae) of Britain and Ireland provides the first complete, up-to-date, detailed illustrated guide and keys to the nearly 200 species of brown algae present around the coasts of Britain and Ireland. It is the culmination of over 30 years of field and laboratory studies by the author. Following an exhaustive introduction that covers the biology and ecology of brown seaweeds, a checklist of species is set out, followed by clear and user-friendly keys to the genera. Particular attention is then paid to providing detailed illustrations, and the volume holds more than 300 compound plates of line drawings and photographs in its extensive taxonomic treatment. Comprehensive information is given on the geographical and seasonal distributions, synonymy, morphology, anatomy, cytology, reproduction, life histories, taxonomy, systematics and bibliographic material pertaining to each species. Notably, this flora offers a much fuller consideration of many of the lesser known, more cryptic microscopic brown algae than previously available. Further, the book also contains the results of much original research undertaken by the author. This will surely remain a standard reference work on brown seaweeds for many years to come – an indispensable research tool and field guide for phycologists and students throughout the North Atlantic region and beyond.

Industrial seaweed use started in Brittany in the XVII century. Today, 700 species have been identified along 1000 km of shoreline, producing 10 million tons of biomass. In the Fourteenth International Seaweed Sumposium the latest developments in the area are discussed. The blending of molecular biology with traditional taxonomy is improving our understanding of phylogeny and species relationships among many of the important algae. A new generation of biologically-based management models is gradually incorporating field testing, concepts from ecological theory and principles from population biology. Prediction is being improved, and an appropriate balance is being struck between commercial exploitation and the preservation of wild seaweed resources. Cell and tissue culture of seaweeds is entering the mass-production phase. Field farming is now entering the large-scale production area. New, biologically active compounds are being described, obtained from algae, and new tools for the characterisation of phytocolloids are described. Microalgal blooms and toxins are also experiencing a flourish of new results.