Sargassum muticum Several of the case studies of the impacts of Sargassum muticum introductions showed negative effects, such as being an undesirable food source for herbivores (Monteiro et al. 2009), suppression of native algal assemblages (Olabarria et al. 2009), and space monopolization (Thomsen et al. 2006). However, several of the studies had ambiguous results, with some taxonomic groups showing increased abundance and some showing decreased abundance (Lang and Buschbaum 2010, Gestoso et al. 2012). Sargassum muticum also enhanced epibiotic diversity in soft-bottom environments (Buschbaum et al. 2006), and at time scales of <1 week after colonization (Rodil et al. 2008). This species was a preferred forage material for the snail Lacuna vincta Montagu (Britton-Simmons et al. 2011), and its presence increased overall faunal abundance (Strong et al. 2006).

Published as part of Davidson, Alisha D., Campbell, Marnie L., Hewitt, Chad L. & Schaffelke, Britta, 2015, Assessing the impacts of nonindigenous marine macroalgae: an update of current knowledge, pp. 55-79 in Botanica Marina (Warsaw, Poland) (Warsaw, Poland) 58 (2) on page 64, DOI: 10.1515/bot-2014-0079, http://zenodo.org/record/11208773