2006 Tweedy et al. Salcombe Sargassum muticum records

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Marine Environmental Data & Information Network
Last updated:
23 July 2026
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Not added
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None

Summary

The first reports of Sargassum muticum occurring in British waters coincided with a warning that this invasive alga may replace seagrass beds, particularly those of Zostera marina. Initial fears were allayed when subsequent research suggested that both species required different attachment substrata, and, therefore, S. muticum would be unable to replace Zostera beds on soft sediments. Here, however, we present evidence supporting the original warning: contrary to previous research we found that S. muticum is able to successfully colonise soft sediments and, furthermore, that the presence of Z. marina may aid attachment. The majority of S. muticum plants within Zostera beds studied at Salcombe, SW England, were found attached within the soft sediment; outside of the seagrass bed, however, this occurred in greatly reduced numbers. Therefore, we suggest that the presence of Z. marina may actually enhance S. muticum colonization of soft sediments, trapping drifting fragments and allowing viable algae to settle on the seagrass matrix in an otherwise unfavorable environment. The consequences for the invasion of seagrass beds by S. muticum may therefore be more severe than previously thought.

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Additional information

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Added to data.gov.uk
2026-07-20
Access contraints
CC-BY - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Harvest GUID
8d6ca7f4f37548e3b8a1dcbd7780e30f
Extent
Latitude: 50.3603° to °
Longitude: -3.8795° to -3.6735°
Spatial reference system
Dataset reference date
2016-07-15 (publication)
Frequency of update
notPlanned
Responsible party
Marine Institute, University of Plymouth (owner, originator); Data Archive for Marine Species and Habitats (custodian, distributor)
ISO 19139 resource type
dataset
Metadata language
eng
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XML
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