A kind of Japanese seaweed that is considered an invasive species in the United States is actually serving an important role in restoring barren and vulnerable coastlines, US researchers said Monday. In many lagoons and estuaries of the North Atlantic, native seagrasses and oyster beds have been “severely reduced, ” due…
A kind of Japanese seaweed that is considered an invasive species in the United States is actually serving an important role in restoring barren and vulnerable coastlines, US researchers said Monday.
In many lagoons and estuaries of the North Atlantic, native seagrasses and oyster beds have been “severely reduced, ” due to global warming, pollution, disease and overharvesting, said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In North Carolina, where the study took place, some 97 percent of seagrasses, 90 percent of oyster reefs and 12 percent of salt marshes have been lost relative to their historical extent.
In these mudflats, invasive Gracilaria vermiculophylla has been spreading, so researchers decided to analyze how it was affecting the ecosystem.
The Japanese seaweed is believed to have made it into North Carolina via the export of a kind of oyster — known as the Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas) — from Japan.
Over a 10-month span, 48 large plots with different densities of Gracilaria were studied for changes in vital services to the environment, including soil stabilization and erosion control, storm surge and flood protection, biodiversity, food production, and habitat for economically important seafood species.
