Invasive macroalgae in native seagrass beds: vectors of spread and impacts.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Worldwide, invasive species are spreading through marine systems at an unprecedented rate with both positive and negative consequences for ecosystems and the biological functioning of organisms. Human activities from shipping to habitat damage and modification are known vectors of spread, although biological interactions including epibiosis are increasingly recognized as potentially important to introduction into susceptible habitats.

Methods

We assessed a novel mechanism of spread - limpets as transporters of an invasive alga, Sargassum muticum, into beds of the seagrass Zostera marina - and the physiological impact of its invasion. The association of S. muticum with three limpet species and other habitats was assessed using intertidal surveys on rocky s

SUBMITTER: Firth LB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10921828 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature