From the Asian Carp to the Zebra Mussel, Texas has its fair share of invasive species. Some of them get a lot of attention (I’m looking at you, voracious feral hog). Others tend to sneak under the radar even when they damage ecosystems.

Take Golden Algae. Originally from Europe, the microscopic plant was discovered on the Pecos River in 1985 when an algae bloom killed hundreds of thousands of fish. Since then, it has colonized other Texas river basins and killed millions more fish. Unlike deadly algae blooms in the Gulf of Mexico that kill fish by taking all the oxygen, golden algae is, itself, toxic. Under the right circumstances, it produces a poison that kills fish, bivalves (and probably any other animal with gills) in the affected waters.

So, it’s no surprise that scientists are trying to learn about it.

Just this weekend the US Geological Survey announced the results of one study that could hold answers to what causes the algae to spread, and points to a troubling relationship between the spread of the algae and global climate change.

Click Here To Read More