MetaFilter posts tagged with invasivespecies

They shoot bunnies, don't they?

filthy light thief — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:26:18 -0800

There is contention in Sweden over the use of rabbit cadavers as bioenergy to provide heat in Värmland. The rabbits are invasive species, initially pets that were released into the parks in the city of Stockholm. Lacking any natural predators, the rabbits thrive on vegetation, eating their way through the city's central parks. The culling last year set a local record with nearly 6,000 rabbits removed from Stockholm's parks, mostly from Kungsholmen. Some concerned citizens have formed a group, Vilda kaniners värn (Society for the Protection of Wild Rabbits, Google translation). They speak out against the culling and provide alternatives to killing the rabbits, citing methods used in Helsinki (including plant protection) as more humane alternatives. (Biofuel details and more after the break.) Helsinki has had invasive rabbits since 1995, where the first appeared in Arabianranta and Kyläsaari, according to a 2005 article. The rabbits largely die out over winter, only to flourish in the spring. In 2005, they weren't reported as a nuisance, but the population increased in 2006 and 2007, to the point of costing hundreds of thousands of euros for the replacement of thousands of individual plants suffering from damage caused by rabbits, even eating holes in Olympic Stadium football nets. In 2008, the tactic was to catch rabbits in nets and humanely put down after being anaesthetised using carbon dioxide, and they were then given to researchers for further studies. The stable rise of the rabbit population introduced predators into Helsinki, such as lynxes and foxes, though there is not enough suitable habitat for these larger predators to keep the rabbits in check. Last winter, 500 rabbits were culled by the city's rabbit control program, and more recently captured rabbits have become food for large birds, big cats, wolverines, and bears at the Helsinki Zoo. (Helsinki's rabbits are the source of many more stories at Helsingin Sanomat.) As noted in the BBC article on the topic, Kovex (Google translation), a subsidiary of Danish group Daka Biodiesel, has worked on making animal waste into biofuels through the Biomal program, which followed from the mass disposals BSE-related animal waste.

Invasive Species

Chocolate Pickle — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:30:22 -0800

What do Kudzu, the Northern Snakehead, St. Johnswort, and the Air Potato have in common? They're all invasive species. USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center and the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health have got you covered. If you really want to scare yourself, read the USDA's Invasive Species weblog. A week ago they reported on the possibility of boas, anacondas, and pythons becoming established in the US. They estimate that there are already tens of thousands of Burmese pythons in the wild in southern Florida.

Heed the Birds

Knappster — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:38:12 -0800

Brian D. Collier is attempting to teach the starlings to say the name "Schieffelin." Eugene Schieffelin introduced European Starlings into New York City's Central Park in 1890 and 1891. The descendants of these birds have damaged trees and crops, transmitted diseases, bullied native species, and even brought down a Lockheed Electra in 1960, killing 62. But they are not without their charms. Starling flocks in flight are a sight to see (previously). And starlings are skilled at recognizing song patterns and can even mimic human speech.

West documents one hapless bird, caught in a web of string, shrieking "Basic research!" at its owners; another screeching "I have a question!" as it squirms while having its feet doctored. The speech patterns of one bird routinely precedes its rendition of "hi" with the sound of a human sniffle--a combination traced to his caregiver being allergic.

Collier is using this skill to turn the species into an environmental teaching tool. He has mounted a project to teach the starlings to speak the name of their patron.

The first and most simple strategy is to find a starling and shout "Schieffelin" to it. Research by West and King has shown that starlings have the ability to learn a word or phrase after hearing it only once. To increase the success rate, I recommend repeating "Schieffelin" as many times as possible to an individual or group of starlings.

"Eventually, the starlings themselves will begin to carry the name "Schieffelin" through their North American population. Research by West and King has shown that starlings can learn sounds from one another. With the teaching of just a few "Schieffelin" can spread, as a virus would, through a population."

The Crazy Raspberry Ants are coming! The Crazy Raspberry Ants are coming!

Kronos_to_Earth — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:18:01 -0800

“They’re the ant of all ants...and are moving about half a mile a year.” Crazy Raspberry Ants! (And you might want to check your computer....)

Please Allow Me to Introduce My Bug

Kirth Gerson — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:56:33 -0800

They keep doing this: 1869: European Gypsy Moth - thank you, Leopold Trouvelot! 1956: Africanized Bee - thank you, Prof.Warwick E. Kerr! 1957: Cactus Moth - thanks, unknown Caribbean cactus-hater! 1978: Asian Harlequin Ladybug (previously on MetaFilter) - thanks, USDA scientists! From the abstract in the first link:

(a) Relatives of the pest are most likely to be attacked (b) host-specificity testing defines physiological host range, but not ecological range (c) prediction of ecological consequences requires population data . . . (e) information on magnitude of nontarget impact is sparse (f) attack on rare native species can accelerate their decline (g) nontarget effects can be indirect . . . (i) whole assemblages of species can be perturbed . . . The review leads to six recommendations: Avoid using generalists or adventive species; expand host-specificity testing; incorporate more ecological information; consider ecological risk in target selection; prioritize agents; and pursue genetic data on adaptation.

Or maybe it's better to leave species in the habitat that's used to them? There are lots more deliberately-introduced species causing problems; I only included insects in North America.

Not The Grey Variety

chuckdarwin — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 03:23:25 -0800

100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species

Extreme aerial bowfishing!

Terminal Verbosity — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 15:24:07 -0800

Extreme aerial bowfishing!

Life could be worse...you could be a Judas goat

gottabefunky — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 15:30:03 -0800

It’s not the big fat radio collar around your neck that’s so bad. It’s not even being painted bright colors. It’s that every time you make a new bunch of friends, they all tend to die (146k PDF). Welcome to the life of a Judas goat (89k PDF), one of the worst jobs in the animal kingdom. Your naturally sociable nature make you ideal for leading sheep to slaughter or helping animal-control specialists find groups of your compatriots in rugged environments, where they proceed to shoot them—everyone but you—from helicopters. Of course, you then get lonely, so you go off and find another bunch and the process begins again.

Unintended Consequences

Capn — Fri, 25 Feb 2005 12:09:00 -0800

Cane toads in Australia. Zebra Mussels in The Great Lakes. Purple Loosestrife in Canada (and the introduction of another alien species to control it, I don't know why she swallowed the fly).

Invasive species, threat or menace? You decide.

Alien Invasion!

Jughead — Fri, 06 Jun 2003 08:41:00 -0800

Read this interesting article in Saturday's Globe and Mail about how non-native species are being introduced into the Great Lakes and throwing off the delicate balance of the lakes' ecosystem. Sea lampreys, zebra mussels, and the New Zealand mudsnail now thrive in the Great Lakes, after arriving via shipping in the Seaway. Both Canada and the US governments are undertaking measures to curb these alien animals. This got me to thinking; is it necessary to eradicate these newly-arrived critters, or are these invasions just another part of that dizzyingly complex web we call Nature?

Unintended consequences & environmental engineering

Johnny Assay — Tue, 04 Mar 2003 19:21:30 -0800

The Chicago River was essentially the city of Chicago's cesspool until the construction of the Chicago Ship & Sanitary Canal, which connected the Chicago River to the Mississippi Basin in 1900. Now there's serious talk of intentionally returning a section of the river to a cesspool-like state, by dumping untreated sewage and (possibly) toxic chemicals into the river. The purpose: to prevent invasive species such as the Asian Carp and the Round Goby from using this connection to cross between the Great Lakes and Mississippi basins. Is it ever possible to avoid unintended consequences in environmental engineering? And is it necessary to "go nuclear", so to speak, to try to correct them?
[Second link RealAudio; transcript here.]

stinglessbee — Mon, 16 Sep 2002 11:14:53 -0800

Killer Carp Must Die! Biological control of invasive species is one solution, but I prefer to support small business. Forget about avoiding perverse incentives, just consider the aesthetic merits of hats over haemorrhages. Of course even the commercial solution can be ugly.