045 - SMALL BOAT CAUGHT IN WATER HYACINTHS ON THE NILE, Egypt. (N 29°43' E 31°17').

The water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) was first reported at the beginning of the twentieth century in the Nile delta in Egypt and in the province of Natal, South Africa. It is an invasive aquatic plant that originated in Brazil, where it develops moderately in its natural habitat. Introduced to Africa as an ornamental plant, in less than a century it spread to more than 50 countries around the world. An obstruction to navigation, this species can block agricultural irrigation canals and turbines in hydroelectric dams. Its thick vegetal carpet, which can double in area in twelve days, causes eutrophication —this reduces the oxygen content of deep waters and leads to the asphyxiation of underwater life. No effective means of destroying this invader has been found to date, but organic defense methods could serve to limit its proliferation. Only 1 percent of introduced species cause major ecological and economic losses, but their presence remains the second cause, after the destr

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