There are also studies suggesting that the toxin may interfere with the eggs of some marine mammals, and kill off many microscopic organisms. The plant blankets an area, pushing out the invertebrates, fish, and native algae. It was used at the Stuttgart Aquarium in Germany and a heartier hybrid was unknowingly produced and then shared with several other marine institutions. In the Mediterranean, what started as 1meter 2 has spread to over 2.5 acres in less than 5 years. It now covers more than 10,000 acres.
Dissemination takes place primarily by fragmentation.
It is still available over the Internet and can easily be confused with the less toxic species Caulerpa sertularioides. Some have tried to tear up the patches of algae but one torn leaf that gets away can generate a whole new outbreak. Divers have used pumps to pull out the plant but it seems to regenerate in the same place at a rate quicker than its original growth rate. Other eradication methods include poison, smothering the algae with a cover that lets in no light, and using underwater welding devices to boil the plant. Two species of marine snail, Aplysia depilans and Elysia subornata , that attack the algae have been found.