Is it true? I have been told (by an ecologist) that it can use up nutrients and overwhelm a stream, killing a lot of the original inhabitants. Apparently its "invasive behavior" is an interesting response to a lack of nutrients – it undergoes explosive growth in an effort to search for nutrients. I can see where that might be an undesirable run-away process.
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I would be interested in knowing more about how it undergoes explosive growth when its food supply gets low. Sounds like the opposite of most species, and that's an interesting evolution to take.
Here's a review of sorts: http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/64/6/531.full
And one study: http://www.ias.sdsmt.edu/staff/sundareshwar/Reprints/Sundare...
Abstract from the second paper:
In recent decades, the diatom Didymosphenia geminata has emerged as nuisance species in river systems around the world. This periphytic alga forms large “blooms” in temperate streams, presenting a counterintuitive result: the blooms occur primarily in oligotrophic streams and rivers, where phosphorus (P) availability typically limits primary production. The goal of this study is to examine how high algal biomass is formed under low P conditions. We reveal a biogeochemical process by which D. geminata mats concentrate P from flowing waters. First, the mucopolysaccaride stalks of D. geminata adsorb both iron (Fe) and P. Second, enzymatic and bacterial processes interact with Fe to increase the biological availability of P. We propose that a positive feedback between total stalk biomass and high growth rate is created, which results in abundant P for cell division. The affinity of stalks for Fe in association with iron-phosphorus biogeochemistry suggest a resolution to the paradox of algal blooms in oliogotrophic streams and rivers.
Thanks! Exactly what I was looking for.