Learn & Explore/Species/Introduced & Invasive/Prickly Seaweed
Prickly Seaweed
Category: Invasive
A widespread invasive seaweed that smothers native coral and algae communities
Prickly Seaweed
(Acanthophora spicifera)
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Smooth cylindrical branches 4
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Can be light pink, brown, green or yellow in color 4
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Usually dark in color in intertidal areas and lighter in color in low water motion areas 2
Habitat
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Typically found on small reef flats, in tidepools, and in the intertidal zone of beaches 2
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Generally attaches to hard substrates 1
Impacts & Concern
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Reproduces asexually through fragmentation, which leads to widespread distribution 2
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Often grows next to and competes with native species 1
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Most abundant seaweed on shallow reefs, most widespread invasive algae in Hawai‘i 4
Introduction
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Unintentionally introduced from Guam through hull fouling in 1950 4
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First fragments were discovered in Pearl Harbor in 1952 4
Distribution in Hawai‘i
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Kauaʻi: Present
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O‘ahu: Present
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Molokaʻi: Present
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Lānaʻi: Present
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Maui: Present
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Hawaiʻi Island: Present
Related AIS Team Management Projects
Urchin outplanting efforts in Kāne‘ohe Bay and Waikīkī MLCD/FMA
References
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UH Botany Department. (2001). Acanthophora spicifera. Marine Algae of Hawaiʻi. https://www.hawaii.edu/reefalgae/invasive_algae/rhodo/acanthophora_spicifera.htm
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Global Invasive Species Database (GISD). (2021). Species profile: Acanthophora spicifera. https://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=1060 on 22-03-2021.
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CABI Invasive Species Compendium. (2019). Acanthophora Spicifera. [Data sheet]. https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/107763
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Hawai‘i Ecosystems at Risk Project (HEAR). (2017). Acanthophora spicifera (Rhodomelaceae). https://www.hear.org/species/acanthophora_spicifera/
