2023-11-06 18:47:35
MADRID, 6 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
A new type of algae that has appeared in tropical regions such as the Caribbean forms a crust on corals and sponges, suffocating the organisms and preventing them from growing again.
In an article published in the magazine ‘Current Biology’ A team of marine biologists reports that peyssonnelioid algae crusts (PAC) are rapidly spreading across reefs around the world, killing corals and transforming entire ecosystems.
“CAPs are a late-arriving ecological surprise on the scene of widespread degradation of coral reef ecosystems in the Anthopocene epoch,” writes the team, led by California State University’s Peter Edmunds. Within this seascape, CAPs can serve as an ecological catalyst that could accelerate the global disappearance of reef corals under accelerated climate change.”
One of the most challenging aspects of the emerging CAP threat is that the algae can be incredibly difficult to identify. There are an estimated 48 different species of PAC, and it can be difficult to distinguish them from harmless species such as seaweed because their morphology varies considerably in colour, shape and structure.
“CAP outbreaks appear to be a rapidly developing crisis in coral reefs around the world, where they are exploiting the ecological legacy of decades of reef degradation“warn the authors.
Already between 2012 and 2019, PACs took over 47%-64% of the shallow reefs of St. John, in the US Virgin Islands. And given the fact that CAPs appear to be much more resilient than other related species to the impacts of climate change, including ocean acidification and extreme weather events like hurricanes, researchers predict PACs will eventually dominate reefs worldwide.
“The recent increase in the coverage and distribution of CAPs on tropical reefs demonstrates their ability to accelerate the restructuring of tropical benthic habitats“, they write.
To stop the spread of CAP and protect reefs, the authors stress the importance of detecting CAP outbreaks as early as possible. They also encourage researchers to study the transformative impact of CAPs on benthic communities and to learn more about the resilience of tropical reefs to CAP outbreaks.
“Adequate progress in these areas will only be achieved through a well-funded synergy of ecological, phylogenetic, and multi-omics studies that must begin with the ability to rapidly and accurately identify the taxa driving global CAP advancement,” the researchers write.
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