Zubia showed that tropical seaweeds are among the least-studied reef organisms — under 5% of global seaweed funding despite Pacific endemicity above 60% — with DNA barcoding now cataloguing roughly 531 species locally. She argued for targeting high-value alginates from proliferative Turbinaria ornata and edible species, linking reef restoration to a circular 'seaweed biorefinery'.

Summary derived from the conference transcript; not an author-supplied abstract of record.