Author: Andy Corbley / Source: Good News Network
After decades of grueling underwater clean-up, a team of scientists have enlisted the help of little sea urchins to roll back a green curtain of invasive algae which has been strangling the beautiful coral reefs of Hawaii for almost 50 years.
Back in the 1970s, a curious scientist introduced a non-native algae species into the delicate ecosystem of Kāne’ohe Bay.
He thought the algae would be good to boost the productivity of aquaculture businesses in the area – but the algae proved to be far too productive, and the rampant blooms soon spread far beyond the purposed area, smothering the coral beds at the bottom of the bay.For years, organized teams of divers would swim down to occasionally cut up the algae and free the coral reefs from the choking undersea plant, but the process was slow, tiring, and expensive. Now, however, a team of researchers have found a way to step back and let nature take care of things herself.
The scientists at the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources have started lining the algae-cloaked bottom of Kāne’ohe Bay with teams of…
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