KILLER ALGAE - LEAN GREEN KILLING MACHINES

 Greetings and WELCOME to another fascinating and mind tingling weekly update of MARINE INVASIVE SPECIES. This week i will like to go a bit on the green side and not global warming green but more like, under water grass green, with this week's topic being on the invasive species KILLER ALGAE.

KILLER ALGAE ( Caulerpa taxifolia)

 The name KILLER ALGAE is not joke this plant species is toxic. This species which is native to the Indian Ocean was introduced to Monaco in the year 1984. It is believed that an aquarium museum while cleaning its tanks a small piece of the algae got away an was washed into a near by stream which then led to a massive out break and now an uncontrollable population which has reached the Mediterranean Sea and Southern California. Other methods which may have caused the spread of this species are net fouling and ballast water.

They can live and thrive in waters with temperatures between 14 degrees Celsius and 32 degrees Celsius. they not only reproduces by segmentation it grows at an alarming rate at which it can grow 1 cm PER DAY that's like 7 cm per week. WOW that's fast.

DIVER  INVESTIGATING KILLER ALGAE 

 This species has a nasty effect in the areas they inhabit. It spreads rapidly that it easily over populates and replaces any native algae and sea grass. This is not the only problem as stated before this algae is highly toxic to herbivores who would feed on them as their food source that would have been replaced by the KILLER ALGAE

 NOW IS THIS NOT A TRUE KILLER.


 Do tune in next week as i seek to explore the ways in which this KILLER can be controlled and groomed.