Learn & Explore/Species/Introduced & Invasive/Leather Mudweed

Leather Mudweed

Category: Invasive

A green seaweed that grows in mats and can take over native plants and animals.

Leather Mudweed (Avrainvillea lacerata)

  • Fan shaped blades attached to single stalk 2

  • Blades are green in color, usually covered with sand and appear brown 2

  • Formally known as Avrainvillea amadelpha in Hawaiʻi

edited with diveplus (2)

Habitat

Found attached to coral, rocks, or in flat sandy areas with low water motion 2

Impacts & Concern

  • High tolerance to environmental extremes 3

  • Can change community diversity of reefs, lowering fish and invertebrate populations 3

  • Creates mud layer on top of sand which changes nature of habitat 1

  • Outcompetes native algae, corals, and seagrasses 1

edited with diveplus (1)

Introduction

  • First discovered in Hawaiʻi in 1981 3

  • Mechanism of introduction is unknown 1

Unknowns

Shows low potential to reproduce via small fragmentation, however is highly invasive which raises questions about if fragmentation is the primary form of reproduction 4

Distribution in Hawai‘i

  • Kauaʻi: Present

  • Oʻahu: Present in Diamond Head, Waikīkī, Koko Head, Kahe Point

  • Molokaʻi: Present

  • Lānaʻi: Present

  • Maui: Not documented

  • Hawaiʻi Island: Not documented

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References and Further Reading

1. UH Mānoa (2001) Avrainvillea amadelpha. Marine Algae of Hawaiʻi. https://www.hawaii.edu/reefalgae/invasive_algae/chloro/avrainvillea_amadelpha.htm

2. Eyes of the Reef (EOR). (2015). Leather Mudweed (Avrainvillea amadelpha). Eyes of the Reef Hawaiʻi. https://eorhawaii.org/education/marine-invasive-species/leather-mudweed/

3. Veazey, L., Williams, O., & Wade, R. (2019). Present-Day distribution and potential spread of the Invasive Green Alga Avrainvillea amadelpha around the Main Hawaiian Islands. Front. Mar. Sci., 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00402

4. Albright, S. (2017). A Growing Problem: The Missing Link for Ecological Success by the Invasive Avrainvillea. [Bachelorʻs Honors Project, University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa]. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/211323725.pdf

Other Introduced & Invasive

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Marine

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Freshwater

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Brackish

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Seaweed/Algae