By Richard Orange In Malmö
PUBLISHED: 14:17 GMT, 9 May 2012
Killer algae that eats animals up to 10,000 times its size has been discovered on Denmark's beaches, off the coast of Elsinore
which is north of Copenhagen. Copenhagen University's Terje Berge said: 'What's really quite sensational about this discovery is that algae,
which appear to be animal and plant at the same time, attack and eat zooplankton.
The study, in the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) Journal, is the first evidence of carnivorous algae outside Spain. It was
there, in 2006, a species called Karlodinium armiger was observed paralysing and then eating small fish. He said the algae then insert
microscopic tubes into the cell walls of their prey, sucking out the nutrients within. As soon as the nutrients begin to seep out, the algae
form a swarm around the attacked animal.
The discovery is of huge academic interest, as algae were previously believed to rely exclusively on photosynthesising sunlight to grow.
The algae are not dangerous to humans.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2141864-0D0F10D900000578-24_468x266.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2141864-0D0F10D900000578-24_468x266.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
PUBLISHED: 14:17 GMT, 9 May 2012
Killer algae that eats animals up to 10,000 times its size has been discovered on Denmark's beaches, off the coast of Elsinore
which is north of Copenhagen. Copenhagen University's Terje Berge said: 'What's really quite sensational about this discovery is that algae,
which appear to be animal and plant at the same time, attack and eat zooplankton.
The study, in the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) Journal, is the first evidence of carnivorous algae outside Spain. It was
there, in 2006, a species called Karlodinium armiger was observed paralysing and then eating small fish. He said the algae then insert
microscopic tubes into the cell walls of their prey, sucking out the nutrients within. As soon as the nutrients begin to seep out, the algae
form a swarm around the attacked animal.
The discovery is of huge academic interest, as algae were previously believed to rely exclusively on photosynthesising sunlight to grow.
The algae are not dangerous to humans.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2141864-0D0F10D900000578-24_468x266.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2141864-0D0F10D900000578-24_468x266.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>