Invasion
Invasion Description
1st record: Norway/Skaggerak (1988, Rueness 1989)
Geographic Extent
Norway/Skaggerak (1988, Rueness 1989); Verdens Ende/Norway/Oslofjord (1992, Bjærke and Fredriksen 2005); Sweden/Skaggerak Coast (1987, Karsson and Loo 1999); Koster Archipelago to Lysekil /Sweden/Skaggerak(1993, Karsson and Loo 1999);
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Alternate | Natural Dispersal |
| Alternate | Hull Fouling |
Regional Impacts
| Ecological Impact | Habitat Change | |
| Sargassum muticum supports an epiphyte community of 82 species in the Oslofjord, Norway, more than that of two major native structural plants, Fucus serratus and Zostera marina (Bjærke and Fredriksen 2005). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Competition | |
| In single-species experiments with Sargassum muticum and 5 native seaweed species, S. muticum grew fastest at the high temperature, 17ºC compared to the natives, but had much slower growth at 7°C. Growth of S. muticum did not differ greatly between high and low nutrient levels (Steen and Rueness 2004). | ||