Deadly algae smothering marine life off Florida's Atlantic coast
ENN Direct Thursday, July 20, 2000
Monday, June 5, 2000
PALM BEACH, FLORIDA (AP) -- A seaweed that feeds on water polluted by fertilizers, agricultural runoff and sewage is choking marine life along six miles of deep-water reefs off South Florida's coast.
Dubbed "killer seaweed" by scientists, it crowds out and smothers coral, invertebrates and other organisms native to ocean reefs.
And because fish don't like to eat the algae, which is naturally toxic, they move away from the reefs, said Brian LaPointe, a specialist in coral reef ecology.
Small patches of the seaweed, Caulerpa alga, began appearing on the Florida reefs about 10 years ago. Those patches have grown into acres and acres of the deadly algae, partially fueled by sewage being pumped into Florida's aquifer by 3,000-feet-deep wells, LaPointe said.
Gases from the sewage eventually migrate upward and are released near the reef's surface.
"Not only is it being fertilized, which leads to explosive growth, but there's nothing out there that seems to be able to eat it to control its growth," LaPointe said.
He has been studying a similar variety of algae that is destroying reefs in the Mediterranean Sea off the coasts of Italy, France and Spain.
Both the Florida and European seaweed are feeding on waters over-enriched by nitrogen from fertilizers, fossil fuels and sewage.
Solving the problem won't be simple, LaPointe said.
Agencies such as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection need to study the effects of nitrogen on the environment and take action to moderate its release into oceans and lakes, he said.
In the meantime, the algae will continue to spread.
"This is just the beginning," LaPointe said. "We predict it's going to be a bumper crop this summer. It's already so extensive we think it's going to be a pretty bad summer for the reef."
Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
For more information, contact: Steven Lecklitner WebMaster Reef Relief (305) 294-3100
reef@bellsouth.net Web site: http://www.reefrelief.org