Set window back color, show msg, and OK button. One of the most recent alien invaders to the U.S. is a bucolic looking marine algae, but don't let its appearance fool you.
Researchers are worried that the seaweed is a nearby relative to Caulerpa taxifolia.
C. taxifolia is a native to tropical seas, but a closely related mutant form that thrived in cold water escaped from an aquarium in Stuttgart, Germany back in 1980. Within a decade the plant had invaded 4600 hectares of the Sea of Croatia and obliterated native sea grasses. If this recent San Diego invader is related as they suspect, scientists fear that it could seriously disrupt the whole marine community off the coast of California. Only time will tell whether those efforts are successful. Another recent report documents a decline in local biological diversity when an invader moves in.