What do you know about invasive species?

Started by fencerider, May 26, 2017, 01:59:52 AM

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fencerider

Have you had any experience with invasive species or heard real info from local officials? I am curious to know if invasive species are a real problem or just a lot of bs.


My first real experience with invasive species was in 2013 while I was driving OTR. Oregon started taking the threat of aquatic species serioulsy. Going north into OR from CA or going west from ID you have to stop at the first weight station and have your boat inspected.


Next I think also in 2013 someone mentioned an invasive species getting into Lake Michigan [by measuring the atlas my guess is that the lake is 55mi wide at narrowest,75mi wide at widest; going straight north from lowest point in Chicago is more than 200 mi to nearest landfall, and staying in the center following the curve from Chicago to the north east is more than 300 miles] I think it was a shellfish or was it a carp??


Then in 2014 I heard about ferral pigs - Europeans brought pigs with them to America to eat and some of them got away everytime and went wild. Supposedly the SE part of the U.S. has a severe problem of wild pigs destroying agriculture and gardens. The problem according to youtube is so bad that many people have gotten into professional pig hunting and trapping. [according to fencerider - What is the difference between a wild pig and a domestic pig? A domestic pig is inside a fence. A wild pig is outside a fence. ] After seein youtube I looked at the fish and game rules for Florida, Lousiana, and Texas. Neither LA or FL had any special provisions for pigs giving the impression that they don't consider them a problem. Texas did have a provision you were allowed to take any pigs you find as long as you had a hunting licence for other big game.


The last one I just came across at the beginning of May 2017. Nasty critter called the lionfish. Supposedly somebody dumped pet lionfish off the Atlantic seaboard around 1986. With no natural preditors they have quicky grown to be a problem. lionfish live around reefs and eat any fish small enough to get in their mouths at a rate of 30 little fish/ hr. Some of the fish they eat are the colorful fish like Nemo and his blue friend that make reefs attractive. Some of the fish they eat are the caretakers of the reef (so when lionfish show up and eat the care takers the reef starts dying) Some of the fish at the reef are babies that are supposed to grow up to fill the nets of commercial fisherman.

Because they have 13 poisonous spines their only predator is humans ( and they can live at depths greater than the limits of diving equipement), lionfish have taken over all the reefs on the Atlantic seaboard from the Chesapeake Bay down through the gulf of Mexico, Carribean Islands, Jamaica, the entire seaboard of Columbia well down into Brazilian waters. Scientists estimate their spread won't be stopped to the south until they reach the temperature change around Rio de Janeiro.

They say the best hope is to make people aware that if you are careful to remove the poisonous spines the lionfish is not only edible but tasty. By making people aware they hope to encourage the developement of commercial fishing of lionfish.


So what do you know about invasive species? be it fact or fiction
"Do you believe in god?", is not a proper English sentence. Unless you believe that, "Do you believe in apple?", is a proper English sentence.

Hydra009

Quote from: fencerider on May 26, 2017, 01:59:52 AMI am curious to know if invasive species are a real problem or just a lot of bs.
It's real.

Sal1981

Wasps came to the Faroes some 20 years ago, and now they've pretty much gotten a foothold here, with seemingly no natural enemies.

Gawdzilla Sama

Fire ants, for one. Coyotes for another. With the demise of their natural foe, the wolf, coyotes are getting into places you wouldn't expect, like downtown St. Louis. If your cat disappears or your bitch turns up pregnant, a coyote might have been involved.
We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

Baruch

Quote from: Gawdzilla Sama on May 26, 2017, 06:51:41 AM
Fire ants, for one. Coyotes for another. With the demise of their natural foe, the wolf, coyotes are getting into places you wouldn't expect, like downtown St. Louis. If your cat disappears or your bitch turns up pregnant, a coyote might have been involved.

Can we sell the puppies?  Are they called doyotes?
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

Gawdzilla Sama

We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

SGOS

Lake Michigan was hit in the 1940s by the lamprey eel, which wiped out the Lake Trout that supported a tourist industry in Chicago as well as other cities.  Sounds like it's been hit again by other introductions.  Hawaii has it's feral pigs that are now an official nuisance. Sometimes man introduces new species intentionally to control other species that have become problems.  Sometimes the cure is worse than the original problem.  Montana got invaded by a tenacious species called spotted knapweed that would take over agricultural land, and was useless for anything else.  However, the companies that manufacture herbicides love the stuff.

Gawdzilla Sama

Quote from: SGOS on May 26, 2017, 09:20:56 AM
Lake Michigan was hit in the 1940s by the lamprey eel, which wiped out the Lake Trout that supported a tourist industry in Chicago as well as other cities.  Sounds like it's been hit again by other introductions.
Zebra mussel.
We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

Gawdzilla Sama

And there's The Weed That Ate The South, aka "kudzu". If it adapts to cold weather we're going to have to learn how to eat it.
We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

Baruch

Supposedly the Mississippi and Ohio rivers were taken over by Chinese carp.  I am still waiting for pet alligators to eat everyone in NYC, as they sit on the toilet ;-)
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

Hydra009

Quote from: Gawdzilla Sama on May 26, 2017, 09:23:09 AMAnd there's The Weed That Ate The South, aka "kudzu". If it adapts to cold weather we're going to have to learn how to eat it.
That or goats will suddenly become everyone's favorite pet.

Gawdzilla Sama

Quote from: Hydra009 on May 26, 2017, 10:30:49 AM
That or goats will suddenly become everyone's favorite pet.
We'll be wearing a lot of wool clothes.
We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

Mike Cl

Quote from: SGOS on May 26, 2017, 09:20:56 AM
Lake Michigan was hit in the 1940s by the lamprey eel, which wiped out the Lake Trout that supported a tourist industry in Chicago as well as other cities.  Sounds like it's been hit again by other introductions.  Hawaii has it's feral pigs that are now an official nuisance. Sometimes man introduces new species intentionally to control other species that have become problems.  Sometimes the cure is worse than the original problem.  Montana got invaded by a tenacious species called spotted knapweed that would take over agricultural land, and was useless for anything else.  However, the companies that manufacture herbicides love the stuff.
Hawaii brought in the mongoose.
Australia the rabbit.
I think Florida has a bunch--python?
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?<br />Then he is not omnipotent,<br />Is he able but not willing?<br />Then whence cometh evil?<br />Is he neither able or willing?<br />Then why call him god?

Gawdzilla Sama

Quote from: Mike Cl on May 26, 2017, 11:00:03 AM
Hawaii brought in the mongoose.
Australia the rabbit.
I think Florida has a bunch--python?
All the water-dwelling snakes did well in the Glades after that hurricane.

And who can forget rabbits in Oz? Or the Norwegian rat every damn place.
We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

SGOS

Quote from: Mike Cl on May 26, 2017, 11:00:03 AM
Hawaii brought in the mongoose.
Australia the rabbit.
I think Florida has a bunch--python?
I think the pythons were illegally released by exuberant snake enthusiasts who got tired of their pets.  Weren't the rabbits a government disaster; I can't remember?  I don't know if the mongoose thing is working out or not.  I had a girlfriend who is a wildlife biologist and she use to attend various conferences.  She said the herpetology conferences were especially colorful with a lot of tattooed attendees wearing black leather. 

I'm not sure I'd want a python.  They're kind of cool and all, but mostly they just lie around in a sleepy daze.  If they get out of their enclosure, it can take a couple of days to find them in the house.  I like affectionate pets that come when you call them and do tricks.