Aquatic Invasive Species

 

Description:

• Small, cylindrical branches with segmentation on each branch
• Grows intertwining together and with neighboring plants to create a thick mat
• Varies in color from yellow, orange, to brown
• Grows on reef flats in shallow waters
• Very successful in brackish waters like fishponds and intertidal pools

Concern:

• High growth rate
• Spreads by fragmentation
• Out-competes native alga and coral
• Grows over coral, shading it from sunlight
• First documented on Big Island in 1971, then later introduced to Oahu in the 1970s for aquaculture

Impacts:

• Causes shift in ecosystem; what was once coral dominated is now algae dominated with low diversity
• Habitat loss greatly affects recreational and commercial fisheries

Distribution:

• Oahu: Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, Maunalua Bay, and Kaneohe Bay
• Molokai
• Big Island: First discovered in Hilo Harbor, now spread south along the coast