Research shows that a significant increase in seaweed is encroaching on the marine environment

A new finding related to seaweed invasion has received the attention of the scientific community.

Going along the beaches of New England, it is easy to recognize a large amount of smooth red seaweed that clogs the coast, resulting in a dramatic change in the marine environment.

To further investigate this situation, researchers at the University of New Hampshire have looked at seaweed populations over the past 30 years in the Southwest Gulf of Maine and found that there are many layers of marine algae that have been significantly reduced. In addition, it is the encroachment of many seaweed and shrubs under the water . This has been changing the appearance of the ocean as well as the circulation of marine food.

In a study published in the Journal of Ecology, the researchers compared photographs of portions of the seabed collected over the past 30 years at some tidal areas in the southwestern Gulf of Maine.

Not only that, they also collected individual seaweed species to determine the biodiversity and complexity associated with some invertebrate intermediaries such as mollusks smaller than fish, crabs .

The number shows that the seaweed community as well as the significant number of small, invertebrate and invertebrate species, among which, most notably, the red seaweed, the species of Dasysiphonia japonica, is capable of covering 90%. future sea area, negatively altering the marine landscape.

Jennifer Dijkstra, a research professor at UNH University's Marine Map Center, said: "We were surprised at what we saw. In some areas, places were once a forest. High kelp with a wide range of dispersions is now more invasive by species . '

Researchers have found that kelp species are one of the most biodiversity-rich ecosystems in the ocean. They appear along the coasts on most continents. It provides a three-dimensional food chain structure for fry (pollock, cod and flounder), giant freshwater prawns and adult fry (lobster and crab), seals and oysters.

'While the marine landscape is changing dramatically and increasing diversity in other small species, we have not been able to clearly identify the mechanism of transmission of the entire food chain with new, adaptive changes. "It will be difficult to predict how it will affect other fish and crabs, and how much of the protection of the marine landscape with this new change will be," Dijkstra said.

Currently, the researchers added that they are conducting a review of the impact of invasive seaweed and trying to find out why they have grown so strongly in Maine. They predict that factors such as fishing activity history, commercial ports, tourism, construction, and climate change may be one of the causes of invasive seaweed in hot Maine waters.