The genus Caulerpa has attracted much attention because many of its species were introduced into non-native regions and became notoriously invasive. This is the case of Caulerpa prolifera that has been rapidly expanding in Ria Formosa lagoon, taking over the deeper unvegetated soft bottoms and competing with seagrass meadows in the shallower areas. Here we address how C. prolifera invasion may affect the support of biodiversity, and specifically, the provision of habitat and nursery for commercial species by the native habitats of this coastal lagoon. Even though no significant differences in total species richness, diversity and evenness were found between C. prolifera and the native unvegetated habitat, the dissimilarity between these two habitats was highest, mostly driven by the extreme reduction of the gastropod Bittium reticulatum and of the tanaid Apseudopsis formosus. This may implicate changes in the trophic interactions of the ecosystem, for example decreasing the tanaid food source for seahorses, which are presently endangered in the lagoon. On the other hand, the fauna species richness, diversity and evenness were significantly higher in the native seagrass habitat than in C. prolifera. Juveniles of valuable flat and sparid fish were only observed in unvegetated sediments and seagrass meadows, respectively. The aggressive spread of C. prolifera in Ria Formosa may alter the structure of native faunal communities, with likely negative implications on fisheries. Nevertheless, the global biodiversity of the lagoon will not be likely drastically affected unless the seaweed takes over the seagrass meadows.

Caulerpa属引起了很多关注，因为它的许多物种被引入非本地地区并以其出人意料地成为入侵物种。Caulerpa prolifera就是这种情况，它在Ria Formosa泻湖中迅速扩张，接管了更深的无植被软底，并与较浅地区的海草草甸竞争。在这里，我们讨论C. prolifera入侵如何影响生物多样性的支持，特别是该沿海泻湖的原生生境为商业物种提供生境和苗圃。即使在C. prolifera之间没有发现总物种丰富度，多样性和均匀性的显着差异与原始的无植被生境相比，这两个生境之间的差异最大，这主要是由于腹足纲网状Bit和奇异果假单胞菌极大减少所致。这可能暗示了生态系统的营养相互作用的变化，例如减少了目前在泻湖中濒临灭绝的海马的破伤风食物来源。另一方面，本地海草栖息地的动物物种丰富度，多样性和均匀性明显高于C. prolifera。仅在无植被的沉积物和海草草甸中观察到珍贵的扁平鱼和spa鱼的幼鱼。C. prolifera的积极传播Ria Formosa地区的鱼类可能会改变当地动物群落的结构，可能对渔业产生负面影响。但是，除非海藻接管了海草草甸，否则泻湖的全球生物多样性将不会受到严重影响。