User:IndiPink0117/Asparagopsis armata

Asparagopsis armata is a marine red algae species. It was first described in 1855 by Harvey, who found the algae on the Western Australian coast.

Population Distribution
A. armata is native to southern Australia and New Zealand (Southern hemisphere) and is also found from the British Isles to Senegal. It is known to be introduced through Mediterranean sea, and the first Mediterranean A. armata was reported in Algeria in 1923. Although, at first, it was thought to be strange to find A. armata in Algeria due to high summer seawater surface temperatures along southern Mediterranean coasts, the particular cool water temperature that stays below 25°C would allow the species to survive locally during the summer.

Morphology
The fully grown A. armata has sparse branches in which long stolons with harpoon-like hooks and erect shoots develop in all directions. The branches, stolons, and shoots ramify over and over again which give A. armata the thallus-like appearance. The ultimate branchlets are filamentous and composed of three cell rows whereas the larger branches consist of a central medullary filament and a gelatinous matrix surrounded by a cortex 3 – 6 cells thick.

Impact of A. armata as an Invasive Species
The acceleration of marine biological invasions through increasing trade and travel also caused the transportation of A. armata to areas outside of their native range: Southern hemisphere. Once it is established, A. armata could rapidly spread and dominate the invaded environment without the direct intervention of human activity. A. armata releases large amounts of toxic compounds to gain competitive advantage in the surrounding invaded area. The impairment of invertebrates after exposure to this algal exudate is shown by significantly increased lipid  (and other biochemical biomarkers) content in the organisms such as common prawn and marine snail. The critical impact that the exudate of A. armata causes, via secondary metabolites, severely decreases the survival rate of various species in the rock pool native communities.