Japanese seaweed balls at risk from deadly winter sunburn, study shows

Seaweed balls are treasured in Japan but could be at risk of extinction due to melting ice, Mustafa Qadri writes

Marimos’ have been a protected species since 1920, but are now an endangered species (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Marimo - or seaweed balls - could be at risk of extinction due to global warming, a new study has found.

The living algae balls are sheltered from excessive winter sunlight by a thick layer of ice and snow, but due to global warming, the ice is thinning.

Marimo is an endangered species and globally their numbers are generally declining. This is usually attributed to human intervention altering or polluting the freshwater lakes in which the fluffy seaweed balls live.