Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
dramatically in the Mediterranean and surrounding Atlantic waters (Belsher et al.
2003; Verlaque et al. 2000, 2003, 2004; Ruitton et al. 2005; Piazzi and Ceccherelli
2006). In Mediterranean waters,
C. racemosa
has been spreading faster and to
more locations than
C. taxifolia
(Ruitton et al. 2005). In some cases in the
Mediterranean,
C. taxifolia
outcompeted
C. racemosa
(Ruitton et al. 2005), while
in other locations the reverse was true (Piazzi and Ceccherelli 2002; Piazzi et al.
2003). After over 2 years of rapid growth, natural disasters in the form of repeated
hurricanes removed nonnative
Caulerpa brachypus forma parvifolia
from coral
reef areas in south Florida (Lapointe et al. 2006). Although native, blooms of
Caulerpa
also can alter ecosystems. Blooms of
C. verticillata
(south Florida,
Lapointe et al. 2006),
C. prolifera
(west coast of central Florida, Stafford and Bell
2005), and
C. sertularioides
(Costa Rica, Fernandez and Cortes 2004) have been
described in recent years. Preventing new invasions, locating and eradicating
invaded populations while small, and managing large populations once eradica-
tion is deemed impossible continue to be issues of global concern with
C. taxifo-
lia
and many additional species in this genus. At the present time, we are a long
way from being successful. Much more research is needed to make us globally
proactive.
References
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Caulerpa
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intro-
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Ceccherelli G, Cinelli F (1998) Habitat effect on spatio-temporal variability in size and density of
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