Whether it be plant or animal life, invasive species can have devastating and destabilizing effects on local ecosystems. 

What's happening?

Croatia is dealing with one such problem right now. It was recently announced by the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries that a new, highly invasive brown alga has been spreading rapidly in Croatian waters.

Croatia Week reported: "The species, Stypopodium schimperii, originally comes from the Indian Ocean and likely entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal." The algae are "ochre-coloured, sometimes with a bluish sheen, and can grow over 40 centimeters in size."

A few specimens were originally discovered in Croatia back in 2020. It only took a year for them to grow into the thousands. In several locations around Komiža, the alga now covers the entire seabed, "completely displacing native marine species," per the report.

Why is this important?

Invasive species are dangerous because they outcompete native species for precious resources. This could lead to the demise of native plant and animal life.

Conserving natural resources and protecting delicate ecosystems are important for many reasons. First and foremost, it protects our food supply. It also prevents disease from spreading. The economic costs are also tremendous. The world loses an estimated $423 billion each year to invasive species, per the World Economic Forum. 

As demonstrated by that total, dealing with invasive species is not just a problem in the waters of Croatia. It is estimated that in the United States alone, the cost of fighting invasive plants is about $20 billion per year, per the Department of the Interior.  

In Sicily, fire ant populations exploded a few years ago. And growing quagga mussel populations have been wreaking havoc in a Wisconsin lake. Volunteers in Maine recently banded together to eradicate leaf milfoil in a local waterway before it spread out of control. 

What's being done about the invasive species?

Officials are unsure if the population of the alga will continue to explode in Croatia. Sometimes, invasive species populations "stabilize or retreat," but they don't want to take any chances, according to Croatia Week. 
Officials asked divers and local photographers to report and document any sightings of the alga so scientists can closely monitor the progression.

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