Nova: Deep Sea Invasion

[Marcosreef]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/algae/

A toxic aquarium plant is accidentally released into the Mediteranean, overwelming marine life and threatening to spread worldwide

 

[Joey French]

just saw this tonight, makes aquarists look evil... man, the macroalgae footage they showed on this episode makes a refugium look barren, comparably... caleurpa fields, literally...

 

[Anonymous]

Bred for its beauty, fast growth, and tolerance for cold, the "aquarium strain" of Caulerpa taxifolia, a bright green seaweed with fernlike fronds that is used to decorate saltwater aquariums, "escaped" from human control in the 1980s and has spread like a cancer through the Mediterranean, overwhelming native species and habitats. In this time line, written by Alexandre Meinesz, the marine biologist who has fought for years to warn authorities in France and elsewhere of this growing menace, follow the disquieting trajectory of this "killer alga" as it colonizes new waters around the world. Unless otherwise noted, "the alga" and "C. taxifolia" refer to the aquarium strain.

November -- The scientific journal Nature publishes an article on the genetics of a large collection of C. taxifolia from around the world(6). The C. taxifolia identified in California is genetically the same as the strains from the Stuttgart aquarium and from the Mediterranean. Researchers discover that the aquarium strain is genetically close to a native strain of C. taxifolia that occurs off the Australian coast at Moreton Bay, which appears to be the original source of the alga that was cloned to form the aquarium strain.

"Cloned" to form the aquarium strain? As in, "I'm naming it Dolly" or as in "here's a handfull, enjoy"?

The implication that this was created in an aquarium is misleading IMO.

Not that aquarists shouldn't be careful about introducing non-native species, but it is probably being transported in ship bilges as well.

 

[Anonymous]

Not that aquarists shouldn't be careful about introducing non-native species, but it is probably being transported in ship bilges as well.

A couple studies that I've seen by non-media sources really point the most fingers at bilges and anchors of trans-oceanic ships. They think...possibly...that one area in Mexico or somewhere might have been contaminated by home aquarist introduction, but the rest is almost always traceable to shipping.

What it boils down to is that aquarists are a heck of a lot easier to go after than multi-billion $ international shipping companies. :?

 

[ReefVan]

Sharkky,

I think you hit the nail on the head, money and big business vs the aquarist, who would you rather blame?

"Zebra Mussel" contamination of the great lakes and St.Lawrence Seaway, foreign vessels emptying their ballast water in our rivers and lakes, another undeniable example of foreign species invasion with no natural predators to keep the "check and balance".

Van 8)

 

[Unarce]

I remember all the news reports regarding Caulerpa taxifolia rapidly choking the Mediteranean. They even went as far as blaming the late Jacques Cousteau for dumping his samples in the sea.

 

[Philippe Dor]

This is pure crap and even here in Australia THE MEDIA is making a big deal out of Taxifolia "invasion",but it is real nonsense because when I saw this on TV some months ago I immediately contacted Dr Jaubert of the Museum of Monaco to offer him a natural way of eradicating this caulerpa, and he declined politely saying that this "invasion" has so far been beneficial to all locations as it increases the food and protective habitat FOR THE FISH IN THOSE LOCATIONS.
The University of Adelaide here also ignored my offer bedause they were investigating a chemical way to "nuke" a lake infested with Taxifolia in South Australia.
As usual, the media is only interested in sensationalism and never get the real full story out,

 

[MelanieF]

So you must not have caught the part of the show that provided research on the health effects caused by sealife eating this strain of caulerpa. A normal sea urchin they showed can turn itself over within minutes but the same breed fed exclusively on this new caulerpa literally took hours to perform the same task. Some of the urchins even refused to eat the caulerpa and starved themselves to death. So how is this plant supposedly beneficial to the fish? I think that the people who should be contributing to the answer to this problem are passing it off as a "natural" event when it is anything but.

Maybe people passing things off as harmless and feeling like the world will heal itself is the reason that we have a lot of extinct species on this planet with many more soon to be added to that list. Don't get me wrong, I eat meat but not the exotic kind that isn't mass produced for the purpose of food.

Wait, I feel the need to conform for a minute...

"We rule this planet and nature just needs to adapt itself!" Saying that just made me sick...

 

[MelanieF]

BTW Philippe,

What would you have suggested as the natural solution to the problem? Adding yet another foreign species? Dumping chlorine in the entire sea? I for one would like to know because if you came up with a solution that none of the scientists can think of then maybe you should try calling a different scientist... maybe one who cares about the impact humans make on our world...

 

[Philippe Dor]

TheAquqriumofMonaco was accused of this accident, and Dr Jaubert is in charge of "cleaning" up this mess, but as he told me himself that there was no need forany intervention I can not force him to do anything that no government has asked for.
As for the Australian team in charge of the eradication of taxifolia in South Australia they completely ignored my proposal as they are getting payed to find their own solution, whatever this may be, so they are certainly not going to take an easy, safe, natural and bio-friendly way out if they can not attach their name to it, They rely on government grants for their research,I rely on my own swet and ingeniousity.

 

[trigger0214]

Oops, I started the same post. :roll:

I caught a special on the Discovery Channel (or something very similar) talking about a rapid growing form of caluerpa that is choking much existing marine life. The species is believed to be have been created in a public aquarium in Italy. From there is spread over the medatarrian and the world by ships and an aquarium in Germany that was distributing it for aquarium decor. The state of California apparently has some pretty aggressive campaigns to rid its coast of the algae with blankets of bleach water that is pumped under a tarp form the service. The proposed source was aquarium caulerpa, since the toxifolia remained asexual. That is, any part of the plant contains all the genetic material to create a new plant.

It looks ALOT like the stuff I have in my tank. Not sure if this any new information, but I found it interesting.