Introduced Species Monitoring | MARINe
Last updated Feb 21, 2023
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photo credits: T. Boyd (left), C. Culver (right)
Help Monitor Introduced Seaweeds
We are overseeing the monitoring of seaweeds that have been introduced to coastal and island reefs of California. We encourage you to help keep track of these introductions by reporting your sightings when you find them. Continue reading to learn more about these introduced species and how you can help us determine where they have spread.
Why Monitor?
Introduced species are plants or animals that have been introduced to a new region where they are not endemic, typically become widespread and abundant, and result in negative impacts on native species, habitats and/or infrastructure. Introduced species can have dramatic ecological and economic consequences in their new environment, with billions of dollars spent each year to prevent, eradicate and control them. The coastal marine environment is vulnerable to introduction through human activities such as international shipping, boating, aquaculture, and the aquarium trade. Identifying and tracking marine species introductions when they occur is particularly challenging due to the expanse and inaccessibility of coastal and island marine habitats. Community members who spend time on or in the ocean can play a key role in documenting the appearance and spread of introduced species by participating in monitoring.
Monitoring the distribution of introduced species is vital to their management and prevention of further spread. Detecting non-endemic species before they become a problem, as well as documenting the range of existing non-endemic species, are critical for controlling and eradicating them. Also, the more we understand about how introduced species spread, the better we will be able to prevent future introductions. We encourage you to assist with monitoring the spread of two seaweeds – Sargassum horneri and Undaria pinnafida - that have been introduced to California and Baja California waters.
What You Can Do:
- Learn how to identify introduced seaweeds (see our identification and reporting aids)
- Look for it when diving or boating, take a photo and submit your observations HERE
- Help reduce the spread! Learn how to identify and avoid spreading Sargassum horneri (PDF)
Be Safe: Scuba diving can be a dangerous sport possibly resulting in serious injury or death without proper training and safe diving practices. Always dive within the limits of your training and comfort.
Video: 'How You Can Help Fight Invasive Species'
Species Currently Monitored
Sargassum horneri
Introduction and Distribution
Sargassum horneri, referred to as ‘Devil Weed’ by many divers and boaters in southern California, is a brown seaweed native to Japan and Korea that attaches to rocks and other surfaces (e.g., docks and boat hulls). It was first detected in California in 2003 by biologists conducting surveys in the Port Long Beach inner harbor1 and originally identified as Sargassum filicinum, which is now considered a type of S. horneri2. By October 2005, the California population had spread within Long Beach Harbor and S. horneri was found adrift in Todos Santos Bay, Baja California, Mexico. It has since expanded rapidly throughout southern California and Baja California3 and in many places, including the northern and southern Channel Islands, dense populations occupy areas where native kelp beds once flourished. To date, this is the only known introduction of S. horneri (filicinum type); it has not been found anywhere else in the world outside of its native range.
How It Spread
The initial detection of S. horneri in a major commercial shipping port suggests it likely came to the US on a commercial vessel. Further spread regionally is attributed to its natural dispersal ability as well as various human activities. Sargassum horneri can spread long distances because as an adult it has buoyant floats that allow it to drift with currents to new sites if detached from the substrate. Just one reproductive individual drifting to a new area may be enough for a new population to become established. It can become detached either naturally (e.g., disturbance from waves or grazers), or by human activity, particularly boating (e.g., becoming wrapped around anchors) and SCUBA diving (e.g., catching on fins and other gear). Sargassum horneri is found at many boating destinations on offshore islands and nearby harbors, suggesting humans may have helped it spread.
Be careful to not inadvertently spread S. horneri by intentionally or accidentally removing and releasing it. Spread the Word, Not the Weed!
Impacts
The continued expansion and sheer abundance and formation of dense mats of S. horneri has raised concerns about its impact on native ecosystems. Potential consequences exist for not only native kelp but also the commercially and recreationally important fished species which depend on kelp for food or habitat, like sea urchins and kelp bass. Definitive studies assessing the impacts of S. horneri are currently underway.
Learn more about Sargassum horneri with this Sargassum horneri information sheet (PDF)
photo credit: Jessie Altstatt
Undaria pinnatifida
Introduction and Distribution
Undaria pinnatifida, often referred to as Asian Kelp or Wakame, is a brown seaweed that is native to Japan where it is cultured for consumption (e.g., miso soup and seaweed salad). It has been introduced to many areas worldwide. It was first found outside of its native Japanese waters in 1971 in Thau Lagoon along the Mediterranean coast of France. Since that time, it has spread along Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of Europe, as well as to England, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Baja California in Mexico, and California, USA. In California, U. pinnatifida was first found growing in Los Angeles Harbor in 2000 and is now found in numerous California harbors. It has also spread to two locations on the open coast: one small population has persisted off Catalina Island since 20014, and a new population was detected on the north side of Anacapa Island in 2016. It may have spread to other reefs in these areas; surveys have been limited.
How it Spread
Undaria pinnatifida arrived in other countries through several different ways. It initially arrived in France with the importation of Japanese oysters. Then, in 1983 it was intentionally introduced along the coast of Brittany, France, for cultivation as food. The original source of U. pinnatifida in Californian waters is unknown. However, its genetics indicate that it may be related to a population in Japan that could have been transported via commercial shipping5. This idea is supported by its first detection in a major port (Los Angeles Harbor) and its ability to grow on the hulls of boats/ships. Further, its occurrence almost exclusively in harbor environments in California suggest that it was also transported along the California coast through boating activities.
Unlike Sargassum horneri, fragments of U. pinnatifida are not capable of dispersing long distances as they do not contain any float-like structures. Nonetheless, adult plants are capable of releasing microscopic spores that will eventually become new plants. If encountered, divers should not disturb or remove adult plants as it could trigger the release of spores and help the population persist and spread.
Impacts
Undaria pinnatifida is listed as one of the world’s 100 worst introduced species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In some places where it has been introduced it has caused a decrease in the number and abundance of native species and interfered with shellfish farming.
Learn more about Undaria pinnatifida with this Undaria pinnatifida information sheet (PDF)
photo credit: Jessie Altstatt
Identification Guides and Resources
Identification Guides (PDF)
Identification and Reporting Flyer
Common marine introduced species of the U.S. West Coast
Sargassum identification guide
Sargassum horneri vs. Sargassum muticum identification guide
Undaria pinnatifida identification guide 1
Undaria pinnatifida identification guide 2
Other Resources
World Register of Introduced Marine Species
Invasive Species - Smithsonian Ocean Portal
Articles, Publications, and News Broadcasts
‘Warm Blob’ marine heatwave helps invasive algae take over Baja Californian waters (Oct 7, 2022)
"Warm blob" helped invasive algae wipe out kelp forest (Oct 7, 2022)
State project launched to develop biodegradable marine bioplastic materials using seaweed (June 7, 2022)
Ocean Ministry to Produce Biodegradable Plastic with Seaweed (June 8, 2022)
S. Korea to produce biodegradable plastic with seaweed (June 10, 2022)
Bacteria Growth-restraining Nano Composite Developed from Invasive Algae (May 26, 2021)
Unseasonal attack by brown macroalgae from China causes damage to sea farms in S. Korea (Feb 19, 2021)
Jeju Island Inundated with Invasive Algae (Jan 20, 2021)
An Orange County marine biologist wants to weed the ocean to help kelp grow (Sept 8, 2020)
Sargassum horneri, known as "Devil Weed," invades Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (June 25, 2020)
Two Types Of Non-Native, Invasive Seaweed Prompt Concern For Marine Protected Areas Off South Coast (May 2, 2017)
Park launches campaign to stop invasive seaweed (Apr 28, 2017)
Super Sucker targets highly invasive Sargassum in Southern California (Mar 11, 2016)
Nancy Foster Scholar Lindsay Marks Takes On Invasive Species (Feb 16, 2016)
Devil Weed invades O.C. Waters (Jan 1, 2015)
Questions? Please contact Lindsay Marks (marks@lifesci.ucsb.edu).
Funding provided by:
References
1. Miller KA, Engle JM, Uwai S, Kawai H (2007) First report of the Asian seaweed Sargassum filicinum Harvey (Fucales) in California, USA. Biological Invasions 9: 609-613, http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1007/s10530-006-9060-2
2. Uwai S, Kogame K, Yoshida G, Kawai H, Ajisaka T (2009) Geographical genetic structure and phylogeography of the Sargassum horneri/filicinum complex in Japan, based on the mitochondrial cox3 haplotype. Marine Biology 156: 901-911, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00227-009-1136-y
3. Marks LM, Salinas-Ruiz P, Reed DC, Holbrook SJ, Culver CS, Engle JM, Kushner DJ, Caselle JE, Freiwald J, Williams JP, Smith JR, Aguilar-Rosas LE, Kaplanis NJ (2015) Range expansion of a non-native, invasive, macroalga Sargassum horneri (Turner) C. Agardh, 1820 in the eastern Pacific. BioInvasions Records 4: 243-248, http://dx.doi.org/10.3391/bir.2015.4.4.02
4. Miller KA and JM Engle. 2009. The natural history of Undaria pinnatifida and Sargassum filicinum at the California Channel Islands: Non-native seaweeds with different invasion styles. In: Proceedings of the 7th California Islands Symposium, eds CC Damiani and DK Garcelon. pp. 131-140.
5. Uwai, S., Nelson W, Neill D, Wang WD, Aguilar-Rosas LE, Boo SM, Kitayama T, Kawai H. 2006. Genetic diversity in Undaria pinnatifida (Laminariales, Phaeophyceae) deduced from mitochondria genes—origins and succession of introduced populations. Phycologia 45: 687-695, http://dx.doi.org/10.2216/05-66.1
