Published on August 27, 2025

This brief e-book is the result of the personal motivation of two researchers, Johana Marcela Concha Obando and Thalisia dos Santos, who worked in close collaboration throughout their Master’s and Ph.D. studies over
approximately eigth years. Their research focused on brown algae of the Dictyotaceae family as model organisms—species that have also been the subject of extensive investigation by the ALGAMAR research group at Fluminense Federal University (UFF), a group with a solid and longstanding trajectory in studying the chemical profiles and potential bioactives of brown seaweeds. This work also serves as a tribute to this remarkable group of algae, which provided us with a specific and scientifically rich focus that contributed significantly to our growth as natural products researchers—particularly through the exploration of diterpenes, a class of compounds that deepened our understanding of the natural products found in Dictyota menstrualis and Canistrocarpus cervicornis, two native species of the Brazilian coast.

With this e-book, we aim to provide an updated narrative review of the scattered literature on the chemical ecology of these algae and the role of various abiotic factors in shaping their metabolite production. This work brings together ecological, biochemical, and environmental perspectives, consolidating knowledge that is often fragmented across different sources—particularly for some of the most studied genera of the Dictyotaceae family that are part of Brazilian biodiversity.

The authors believe that the publication of accessible scientific material through open access platforms, such as Editora Atena, is a powerful tool for both scientific communication and national academic dissemination. This initiative is intended not only to support researchers and students, but also to broaden the visibility of marine chemical ecology as an evolving and interdisciplinary field.