Invasive species in the news

With invasive species infestations becoming more common, the mainstream media is picking up with more stories about how it affects governments, tourism, fisheries, and other industries. Please post links to stories here and share your experiences.

53 thoughts on “Invasive species in the news”

  1. Eavesdropping on fish could help us keep better tabs on underwater worlds
    The meaning of most fish sounds remains unknown
    Fish clamor can reveal a lot: Is there the hubbub of biodiversity? Has an invasive fish species moved in? When do conservationists need to put up a “do not disturb” sign to ensure that human activity doesn’t disrupt mating season?
    https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fish-ocean-animals-environment-communication-behavior

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  4. “Now, in an extraordinarily exhaustive new study, scientists have pinpointed the cause of death for those bald eagles in Arkansas. No wonder the mystery took 25 years to solve: The birds died because of a specific algae that lives on a specific invasive water plant and makes a novel toxin, but only in the presence of specific pollutants.”
    https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/03/humans-accidentally-created-death-trap-bald-eagles/618413/

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  20. Invasive Species: Do We Worry Too Much?
    http://www.wpr.org/listen/647121

    Damage from invasive species cost the United States more than $120 billion each year, and are reported to threaten the survival of more than 400 endangered species. In Wisconsin ecologists have their eyes on zebra mussels, Asian carp, Emerald Ash Borer and others. But is every invasive species as bad as we make it out to be?

    Far too often we are spending too much money to rid ourselves of invasive species, according to Dr. Ken Thompson, Lecturer for the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield. Most people believe the World yesterday is the way it ought to be, Thompson believes that where ever species are right now is where they belong in some sort of way.

    Take the Camel family, for example. Over 40 millions years ago the camel family evolved in what is now the United States. After a period of tens of millions of years they went extinct in America. This coincides with the timing of when man arrived. Most of the surviving camels today are to be found in South America: so Thompson raises the question, are they invasive?

    Thompson feels that not every alien species is okay and should be left alone, but many of these invasives have beneficial attributes and fit into their new environment, often without much pomp and circumstance. He assets that the focus should be on battling the right targets.

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  26. The swap is a nice idea, but faces economic challenges. The elver fishery is so lucrative (except not as for perhaps this year, with record catches of A. japonica) and a green cab fishery not so profitable that monetarily, costs of switching would outweigh the benefits. The long-term monetary benefits of possibly reducing green crab populations this way may be too intangible to motivate fisherman to switch.

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  40. Invading Plants
    http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/45476
    This article sites a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) reports that recent statements that invasive plants are not problematic are often based on incomplete information, with insufficient time having passed to observe the full effect of invasions on native biodiversity. Invasive plant life simply may take longer to “take over” than invasive animals. There are links to other invasive species stories to the right of this story.

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