Tag archives for invasive species
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Prowling by night, feral hogs are spreading fast in Jean Lafitte National Park in southern Louisiana.
Cleaning Up the World’s Ballast Water
Posted by Michael Fry on April 2, 2013 
According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations agency responsible for the prevention of marine pollution by ships, water carried in ships’ ballasts is a top threat to global biodiversity and marine ecosystems. How? By transporting thousands of species out of their native environments and depositing them elsewhere around the world, where they…
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It is in the nature of human hubris to assume Man Knows Better than Nature. Which is why, perhaps, when it comes to trout, things are a downright mess. Thanks to the British, as the Empire expanded beyond the sunset, so did trout. In 1864, they were introduced to Tasmania, India in 1889 and South…
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I’m posting Freshwater Species of the Week a day early because I just caught wind that biologists have discovered “monster” goldfish breeding in Lake Tahoe. I visited Lake Tahoe a few winters ago, and can say with experience that it’s a stunning natural gem. Snow-capped peaks ring the crystal-clear blue water, which supports a diverse…
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A new environmental threat map of the Great Lakes serves as a powerful visualization tool for those interested in the challenges facing lake restoration efforts. The map brings to mind the adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” But the colorful image is worth even more than that – the red, orange, and blue…
Antarctica Braces for Influx of Invasive Species
Posted by Claire Christian of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition in Ocean Views on January 7, 2013 
Antarctica and the Southern Ocean may seem very far away from civilization, but they are at great risk of losing their unique qualities due to human activities. Warmer temperatures and human visitation are increasing the likelihood that invasive species can take up residence in the Antarctic, and potentially cause major changes. Two studies have found…
The Threat of Invasive Species—An Interview with Dr. Michael Hutchins
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on December 25, 2012 In an ongoing series of interviews with renowned wildlife professional and ecologist Dr. Michael Hutchins, Newswatch Contributing Editor Dr. Jordan Schaul explores another threat to nature. In the last interview Michael and Jordan discussed the Nature Deficit Disorder. Here is a complete bio for Dr. Michael Hutchins. Interview: Jordan: People, including scientists, often confuse or…
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Day five of our expedition to the Galapagos islands took us to the northwest slope of Santa Cruz for a walk up Cerro Dragon, “Dragon Hill.” This place was once home to a thriving colony of the massive Galapagos land iguana, Conolophus subcristatus. The lizard is making a comeback here after being nearly wiped out by cats, rats, and dogs introduced to the Galapagos by humans.
South Georgia’s Rats To Face Unprecedented Airborne Assault
Posted by Michael Fry on November 30, 2012 
For urbanites, rats are an often unavoidable by-product of city living. Though well-known as disease vectors, they’re probably more cringe-worthy than genuinely threatening to most human inhabitants. But on South Georgia island, rats are an invasive species, introduced more than two centuries ago by sealing boats. And now, their population estimated in the millions, they’re…
Shedd Aquarium Studies Invasive Fish Species Impacting the Great Lakes Ecosystem
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on November 29, 2012 Contributing Editor Dr. Jordan Schaul interviews Shedd Aquarium researchers about the facility’s Great Lakes conservation research programs, which include studies on invasive species. In the face of all the threats that challenge the Earth’s pelagic and coastal zones of fresh water, marine and brackish water bodies, Shedd Aquarium remains committed to the conservation of aquatic…
Following tests on smaller islands, the government of Ecuador today begins the second phase of dropping massive amounts of specially designed poison on a Galapagos island thought to be infested with nearly 200 million invasive rats. Introduced centuries ago by pirates, whalers and other visitors, the rodents wreak havoc among the wildlife of Galapagos by preying on eggs and hatchlings of bird and reptile species.
It seems that London was host to more than Olympic athletes, as a recent study suggests the Thames River is among the world’s most invaded freshwater systems. Research published in the delightfully named journal Biological Invasions found nearly 100 invasive species living in the Thames. The researchers at Queen Mary, University of London concluded that…
As bird populations plummet worldwide, will Earth become the Planet of the Spiders? Research on Guam, a 30-mile-long U.S. island in the Pacific, found that arachnid populations increased as much as 40-fold in the wake of insect-eating birds being eaten into oblivion by invasive brown treesnakes.
Hurricane Leaves Thousands of Dead Rats on Mississippi Beaches
Posted by Suzan Eaton on September 10, 2012 Houses and buildings weren’t the only things damaged by last month’s hurricane. One of the Gulf Coast’s most notorious invasive species got slammed by Isaac. Almost 20,000 nutria, or copyu, were drowned and washed up on the Mississippi coast following the storm.
Last month, the spiny water flea, a tiny shrimp-like organism native to Europe and Asia, was discovered on the “doorstep” of Lake Champlain. Researchers found it in a canal that connects Lake Champlain to the Hudson River, and then a fisherman found it in Lake George, an Adirondack lake located about a half-mile upstream…
The giant invasive snakes that are thought to be breeding and munching their way through the native animals in Florida’s Everglades may have found their nemesis in the form of one of America’s most beloved pets, the Labrador retriever. “The scenario sounds like a low-budget movie from the 1970s: Humongous snakes are on the loose,…
Few fish can inspire as much horror as the Asian carp (well, except perhaps the dreaded candiru). But except for a few well publicized collisions with leaping fish, the Asian carp is rarely dangerous to human beings. Instead, ecologists warn that the Asian carp can wreak havoc on aquatic food chains by vacuuming up plankton…
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A tiny fish in Lake Victoria is under a huge threat from overfishing and invasive species. NG Young Explorer Diana Sharpe describes her work to understand and protect the “mukene.”
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Pythons sometimes have eyes too big for their stomachs—read about some particularly epic snake meals that went bust.
Meg Quinn, of Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation, talked to me at the recent BioBlitz in the Saguaro National Park about the scourge that’s blighting much of the Sonoran Desert of Arizona — a tough alien grass that’s taken hold and threatening the native ecosystem.
Changing climate conditions and the massive invasions of exotic species introduced by human migration and the global economy are two of the biggest factors driving native species and habitats toward extinction. Now a new study finds that the combination of climate change and invasive species is compounding the devastation of ecosystems. Two of the greatest threats to the…
NG stock photo of male mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) by Bates Littlehales By Leon Marshall Johannesburg–Some people get very upset whenever there is talk of exterminating invasive alien bird species, even if they pose a threat to a country’s own birds. In South Africa, the effort to eradicate non-native birds has even been compared to…
Good news for seafood eaters–the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) not only endorses, it encourages the eating of lionfish, a tasty species apparently flourishing in the Atlantic Ocean. “A new study looking at how to curb the rapid growth of lionfish, an invasive species not native to the Atlantic Ocean, suggests that approximately 27…
It turns out that being good for the environment and eating tons of animal products aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. It just depends on which animals you eat. So instead of chowing down on pork, beef or tuna, what about eating an invasive species? The idea of eating an invasive species to control it isn’t a…
For Earth Day 2010, The Nature Conservancy and University of California Press have published The Atlas of Global Conservation, their attempt to collect “everything we know about nature on planet Earth.” The book includes a hundred maps and charts, as well as essays by leading conservation thinkers that put the information in its larger context, The…
