Here is the final installment in the three-week blog series, Invading Our News. Enjoy!
What could be better than goats?
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120703/NEWS/307030060/Water-buffalo-help-ridBrandywine-park-invasive-plants?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CHome%7Cp
Water buffalo! Similar to the goats in the New York City park, Brandywine Creek State Park in
Delaware has brought in two river water buffalos to graze and stomp out vegetation in a
wetland. They will be used to help decrease the number of invasive plants in the nature center
by eating them and crushing their roots under their weight, according to Rob Line, manager of
the environmental stewardship program at the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation.
IMG: Rorymizen, Flickr user (CC: BY, NC)
Desired invasive
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/966449-196/rainbow-trout-is-an-invasive-speciesthat.html
Rainbow trout have been bred and distributed throughout rivers of the world for more than a
century because it is a robust sport fish. We have just become rainbow trout spreading experts.
These days, federal and state agencies in the US release about two billion rainbow trout each
year into rivers everywhere. Trout are now being used as bait to lure anglers – but how could
the purposeful placement of these invasive species harm our environment?
IMG: USFWS Pacific (CC: BY)
Predator in paradise
http://www.voanews.com/content/hawaii-birds-predators/1352944.html
Mongoose, non-native mammal, has moved into Hawaii. As the mongoose spread throughout
the islands, the native bird populations have decreased. George Wallace of the American Bird
Conservancy said, “Hawaii is the bird extinction capital of the world. The 50th state has a
reputation as an island paradise, but I think that a lot of people don’t realize that through a long
history of animal and plant introductions, Hawaii’s bird population has been decimated.”
IMG: Pitt Numa (CC: BY, ND)
Luck of the Irish … or not
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2012/06/29/pei-irish-mossharvest-584.html
In Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada, Irish moss harvest has been about five percent of what it
was a decade ago. Irish moss (a seaweed, not a moss) is used to make a thickening agent to use
in food processing. The decline in Irish moss on PEI is being blamed on invasive seaweed called
fucellaria that chokes out Irish moss beds. So, why not just sell the fucellaria? It is worth only
half of what the Irish moss is worth, so its presence is devastating to the PEI economy.
IMG: Palestrina55, Flickr user (CC: BY, NC, SA)
The war on nutria
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/06/us/new-war-on-invasive-nutria-in-delmarvamarshlands.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&hpw
They look so cute with their beady little eyes and soft fur, but don’t let the adorable appearance
of the nutria fool you. Actually, most people would say these animals are pretty ugly. Nutria
consume a quarter of their body weight daily by eating the tender roots of marsh grasses (which
then, as you would expect, greatly harms the marsh ecosystem). A 2004 study found that, if left
unchecked, nutria damage to the Chesapeake Bay area could cost Maryland around $37 million
each year (in lost economic activity). The nutria just keeps on living. Expensive eradication
efforts have been implemented, but they all seem to fall short of complete success.
IMG: riko.jennrich, Flickr (CC: BY, NC)
They’re here!
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-20127579/the-threat-of-invasivespecies/?tag=contentMain;contentBody
Cue trumpet call. Though not news, this video is a great introduction to invasive species that
originally aired on CBS Sunday Morning. It discusses invasive species throughout the United
States and some of the amazing species that have invaded our nation. It gives any budding
citizen scientists or students an understanding of invasive species.
IMG: Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (CC: BY)