| Sargassum horneri | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | SAR |
| Clade: | Stramenopiles |
| Phylum: | Gyrista |
| Subphylum: | Ochrophytina |
| Class: | Phaeophyceae |
| Order: | Fucales |
| Family: | Sargassaceae |
| Genus: | Sargassum |
| Species: | S. horneri
|
| Binomial name | |
| Sargassum horneri (Turner) C.Agardh
| |
Sargassum horneri is a species of brown macroalgae that is common along the coast of Japan and Korea. It is an annual algae which has a varying fertile season along the coast. In Wakasa Bay it began to grow in early autumn through winter, becoming matured in Spring, when the sea water temperature was 11.6–15.2 °C (53–59 °F) in average.[1] Also called "devil weed", this species has invaded the Eastern Pacific, beginning in Baja California and advancing north along the California coastline.[2]
In its natural ecosystem, Sargassum horneri grows attached to a hard substrate and blooms into a kelp forest which encourages and maintains local biodiversity. However, this species of macroalgae is the major component of the northwest Pacific golden tide, a biomass of Sargassum horneri that drifts up the eastern coast of China towards Korea as an invasive species and is detrimental to the coastal ecosystem there.[3]