the infamous sea cucumber
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Well, when it isn't in an aquarium. Looks like some people should be careful what they do with their caulerpa harvest. Observe.
Killer Algae: Caulerpa Taxifolia
A KTVU Special Report
May 2, 2002
This emerald green seaweed is "Caulerpa," a popular decoration for home and public aquariums.
It's elegant and beautiful ... but some Caulerpa species are also something else: ruthless killers, destroyers of sea life all over the world.
Thousands of people come to California's coastline every day to see marine life up close. But what if, one day, Caulerpa destroyed it all?
Many species of Caulerpa can devastate a marine habitat, but the most deadly is 'Caulerpa Taxifolia.' In 1984, Caulerpa Taxifolia was detected in the Mediterranean, and ironically, may have been introduced there in water dumped from an aquarium run by the world's most famous marine scientist, Jacque Cousteau.
A small patch quickly began growing and spreading underwater for miles ... smothering native plant life, chasing away sea life, growing like a cancer.
Susan Williams, Marine Biologist: "Caulerpa can regenerate from a fragment so small that you can't see it..and once it's regenerated, Caulerpa can grow at the rate of three inches in any direction, per day."
Williams is director of the Bodega Bay Marine Lab at the University of California at Davis. She says Caulerpa Taxifolia is especially dangerous because the public underestimates the plant's lethal qualities. Williams says, one by one, countries in Europe refused to believe such a beautiful plant could destroy marine life in their bays, until it was too late.
"The problem in the Mediterranean is so severe that managers have basically given up hopes of eradicating it in the Mediterranean. It now reaches to Africa, Tunisia, into Italy, France, Monaco, and now into Croatia."
Last summer, Caulerpa Taxifolia showed up in six bays in Australia. Same problem ... same result.
Williams: "The Australians have also given up because it's so far spread."
Scientists knew Caulerpa Taxifolia couldn't be spreading around the globe just on its own. DNA tests revealed the invasive Caulerpa is a mutant strain not found in the ocean, only in saltwater aquariums.
So, scientists say the worldwide ecological disaster may be from saltwater aquarium owners dumping old water down the drain, and into the sea.
Williams: "And I think humans believe it's 'humane' to return sea life to the sea ... and that's very well intentioned, but it's actually the EXACT WRONG THING TO DO."
Public warnings didn't work, and the alien invader showed up in California two years ago. A marine biologist in San Diego found an unfamiliar, but beautiful plant. Rachel Woodfield said she decided to do some research.
"As the Caulerpa picture downloaded on my computer screen..I just got this sinking feeling in my stomach..like 'Oh, no ... This is what I have in my jar!'"
Unlike in Europe, Woodfield assembled a team of private and governmental agencies to combat the Caulerpa. A giant underwater tent was used to block sunlight and seal off acres of Caulerpa. Then, chlorine was injected inside. So far, the method is working, but again, it only takes a small fragment to settle and grow into a whole colony.
Woodfield: "It's very labor intensive, looking for smaller and smaller pieces. The more successful we are at our survey, the harder it is to find that last piece."
So Caulerpa Taxifolia made it from Europe and Australia to the southern California coast. Does that mean we can expect to see it appear here in the Monterey Bay and the rest of the Northern California coastline?
Scientists say if the Caulerpa isn't completely eradicated in the San Diego area, the entry here is inevitable.
Williams: "We expect to see it up the coast. We believe that Caulerpa could grow in Monterey Bay, in San Francisco Bay... in the warmer, shallow, quiet areas of those bays." In Monterey Bay, if Caulerpa displaced the kelp, all the animals that depend on kelp -- like sea otters -- would also suffer... maybe disappear.
Woodfield: "In an environment like Monterey Bay, Caulerpa may be able to grow and grow and grow... to an extent where even if we had the resources, we couldn't control it."
This year, the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco got a scare when a species of Caulerpa was found growing in one of the exhibit tanks. A small fragment may have hitched a ride on one of the rocks.
John McCosker, Steinhart Aquarium Consultant: "Cal Fish and Game came in and checked this out, and they said, 'It's okay ... you have the correct species.' Having said that, we're very concerned that some day we might wake up and find nothing but Caulerpa all over the bottom, smothering this tank."
KTVU went to several Bay Area aquarium stores and found Caulerpa for sale, and managers acknowledged they didn't know what species they were selling.
Scientiests are lobbying state and federal agencies to ban all forms of Caulerpa, including a thriving trade on the Internet.
The scientist's top priority right now is to get more money to continue the eradication project in San Diego, where funds will run out in November.
Killer Algae: Caulerpa Taxifolia
A KTVU Special Report
May 2, 2002
This emerald green seaweed is "Caulerpa," a popular decoration for home and public aquariums.
It's elegant and beautiful ... but some Caulerpa species are also something else: ruthless killers, destroyers of sea life all over the world.
Thousands of people come to California's coastline every day to see marine life up close. But what if, one day, Caulerpa destroyed it all?
Many species of Caulerpa can devastate a marine habitat, but the most deadly is 'Caulerpa Taxifolia.' In 1984, Caulerpa Taxifolia was detected in the Mediterranean, and ironically, may have been introduced there in water dumped from an aquarium run by the world's most famous marine scientist, Jacque Cousteau.
A small patch quickly began growing and spreading underwater for miles ... smothering native plant life, chasing away sea life, growing like a cancer.
Susan Williams, Marine Biologist: "Caulerpa can regenerate from a fragment so small that you can't see it..and once it's regenerated, Caulerpa can grow at the rate of three inches in any direction, per day."
Williams is director of the Bodega Bay Marine Lab at the University of California at Davis. She says Caulerpa Taxifolia is especially dangerous because the public underestimates the plant's lethal qualities. Williams says, one by one, countries in Europe refused to believe such a beautiful plant could destroy marine life in their bays, until it was too late.
"The problem in the Mediterranean is so severe that managers have basically given up hopes of eradicating it in the Mediterranean. It now reaches to Africa, Tunisia, into Italy, France, Monaco, and now into Croatia."
Last summer, Caulerpa Taxifolia showed up in six bays in Australia. Same problem ... same result.
Williams: "The Australians have also given up because it's so far spread."
Scientists knew Caulerpa Taxifolia couldn't be spreading around the globe just on its own. DNA tests revealed the invasive Caulerpa is a mutant strain not found in the ocean, only in saltwater aquariums.
So, scientists say the worldwide ecological disaster may be from saltwater aquarium owners dumping old water down the drain, and into the sea.
Williams: "And I think humans believe it's 'humane' to return sea life to the sea ... and that's very well intentioned, but it's actually the EXACT WRONG THING TO DO."
Public warnings didn't work, and the alien invader showed up in California two years ago. A marine biologist in San Diego found an unfamiliar, but beautiful plant. Rachel Woodfield said she decided to do some research.
"As the Caulerpa picture downloaded on my computer screen..I just got this sinking feeling in my stomach..like 'Oh, no ... This is what I have in my jar!'"
Unlike in Europe, Woodfield assembled a team of private and governmental agencies to combat the Caulerpa. A giant underwater tent was used to block sunlight and seal off acres of Caulerpa. Then, chlorine was injected inside. So far, the method is working, but again, it only takes a small fragment to settle and grow into a whole colony.
Woodfield: "It's very labor intensive, looking for smaller and smaller pieces. The more successful we are at our survey, the harder it is to find that last piece."
So Caulerpa Taxifolia made it from Europe and Australia to the southern California coast. Does that mean we can expect to see it appear here in the Monterey Bay and the rest of the Northern California coastline?
Scientists say if the Caulerpa isn't completely eradicated in the San Diego area, the entry here is inevitable.
Williams: "We expect to see it up the coast. We believe that Caulerpa could grow in Monterey Bay, in San Francisco Bay... in the warmer, shallow, quiet areas of those bays." In Monterey Bay, if Caulerpa displaced the kelp, all the animals that depend on kelp -- like sea otters -- would also suffer... maybe disappear.
Woodfield: "In an environment like Monterey Bay, Caulerpa may be able to grow and grow and grow... to an extent where even if we had the resources, we couldn't control it."
This year, the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco got a scare when a species of Caulerpa was found growing in one of the exhibit tanks. A small fragment may have hitched a ride on one of the rocks.
John McCosker, Steinhart Aquarium Consultant: "Cal Fish and Game came in and checked this out, and they said, 'It's okay ... you have the correct species.' Having said that, we're very concerned that some day we might wake up and find nothing but Caulerpa all over the bottom, smothering this tank."
KTVU went to several Bay Area aquarium stores and found Caulerpa for sale, and managers acknowledged they didn't know what species they were selling.
Scientiests are lobbying state and federal agencies to ban all forms of Caulerpa, including a thriving trade on the Internet.
The scientist's top priority right now is to get more money to continue the eradication project in San Diego, where funds will run out in November.
