Didymo On the Esopus: Sign Of the Times

June 16, 2009 By: Marshall Cutchin

In The New York Times this morning, Anthony DePalma notes the sense of resignation that surrounds the appearance of Didymo in streams like the Catskills’ Esopus Creek. But he also summarizes the current thought and research on the topic of how to keep Didymo from spreading. “Didymo is considered native to parts of North America, where it was found in higher elevations with cold, nutrient-poor waters. But in the last 20 years, the single-celled diatom seems to have morphed into a more aggressive invasive species, spreading from British Columbia across the continent to New York.”