Caribbean Coral Reefs under Siege from Aggressive Algae
A new algal threat is taking advantage of coral's already precarious situation in the Caribbean and making it even harder for reef ecosystems to grow.
An aggressive, golden-brown, crust-like alga is rapidly overgrowing shallow reefs, taking the place of coral that was damaged by extreme storms and exacerbating the damage caused by ocean acidification, disease, pollution, and bleaching.
"This alga seems to be something of an ecological winner in our changing world," described lead author Wilson, noting that the various other threats to coral communities make them more susceptible to the algal crusts.
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