Editorial

Little doubt remains that the Earth is currently faced with exceptional, anthropogenically-induced global changes including climate warming and ocean acidification. As a consequence of these major perturbations, the planet is enduring increasing loss of species, with algae not spared from this "6th extinction". Increasing transportation of marine organisms, associated notably with commercial shipping, is resulting in repetitive introduction of species into non-native ecosystems, and, algae, as primary producers, are often prone to rapid proliferation that can seriously affect native flora. Blooms of algal species that are toxic or otherwise harmful to other components of ecosystems are an ongoing cause for major economic concern in many regions of the world. Recently, algae have also become the subject of intense interest in a variety of biotechnological fields, notably for the promise they hold for exploitation for the production of biofuels...