Letters to the Editor
-
Caulerpa taxifolia
Another inevitable consequence of our hypothesized sudden disappearance would be the continuing damage done by algae we bred for our aquariums because it looked "pretty," the fish wouldn't eat it, and it could tolerate cold: Caulerpa taxifolia. A Google search turns up page after page documenting the disastrous effect this single-celled organism has had on biodiversity, particularly in the Mediterranean. The fishing industry has been pretty well wiped out there. Without human vigilance, I have little doubt that over thousands of years, nearly all the species in all the oceans will face blue-green extinction, unless Nature can come up with a way to deal with it. This is probably a worse threat than plastic. I'm surprised the article (and presumably, the book) didn't mention it.