Let's save all the ecologically hazardous species!

[CornField]

I've mostly kept my mouth shut about the feral cat controversy, but I can't sit on my hands any longer. When a non-native species is introduced into a native population, the ecological ramifications can be a true disaster with entire native species being displaced (sometimes to extinction).

Why should we limit our emotional pleas to the feral cats? Let's save all the species which threaten native wildlife.

So, this is a thread devoted to all the flora and fauna that have been introduced into native habitats (typically by ignorant man) and now threaten them. If you know of one (or more) add them on.

[Career Prole]

1. Ecologically hazardous species.

Good name for humankind.

[CornField]

9. That's actually my point

Most of the species weren't a problem in their native habitats. It has been man that has both accidentally and purposefully made these nuisance species by placing them in new ecological areas -- without traditional predators which keep their numbers in check.

If must be angry -- direct your anger at those who deserve it: The people who have unwanted litters of kittens and then dump them out in the boonies; the people who tire of their aquariums and "free" their exotic fish into neighborhood waters; the people who just can't resist that beautiful flower they see on vacation and dig up some to bring home.

Several Iowa communities have hired sharp shooters to help in the control of the deer population. Ironically, it was urban sprawl (and man that came with it) which displaced the natural predators.

The bottom lines remains that whether it be fish, snails, insects, plants or even the descendants of domestic house cats, a non-native species cannot be allowed to rip through and destroy an entire ecological area or region.

[Career Prole]

11. I assumed that was your point.

And it's a good one. :)

Edit to add damned fire ants.

[Solly Mack]

14. Humans were the first thing I thought of too

[CornField]

2. Asian Carp

They grow to 50-120 pounds, jump like tarpon, and breed so fast that Australians nicknamed them "river rabbits." They eat so much, they can suck down two or three times their weight in plankton every day.

And now these exotic Asian carp are knocking on the door of the Great Lakes.

In some places on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, there are so many Asian carp that commercial fishermen gave up trying to fish those pools. There are so many that when people goout on a sightseeing tour on the barges with tables and umbrellas on the deck, silver carp jump out of the water and land on top of the umbrella. Some of Illinois preservation staff have been hit multiple times by big carp that landed in research boats.

In 1990, biologists netted no Asian carp when they sampled the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Ten years later, Asian carp made up 97 percent of a massive fish kill in a Mississippi slough south of St. Louis.

The invasive species causing such concern are silver carp, which can reach 60 pounds, and bighead carp, which can top 100. Widespread in the Mississippi and Illinois systems, they recently were been found in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal only 11 miles below Lake Michigan.

A third Asian species, black carp, escaped to the wild in the 1990s, and biologists fear it also might prove a threat before the decade ends.

Bighead and silver carp were imported to control plants and algae in fish farm ponds. The first black carp probably were accidentally mixed in with fingerlings of other species. But because black carp eat mollusks like snails, clams and mussels, more were imported deliberately by the fish farms in the 1980s to control a catfish parasite that used snails as an intermediate host.

[Inland]

3. No problemo.

Zebra mussels, longhorn beetles, Queen Anne's lace, earthworms, wheat....

Well, not everything. About half the plant species growing in the wild in my neighborhood are actually european.

[CornField]

4. Zebra Mussels

Zebra mussels arrived by ship from Europe in the 1980s. They have already have caused dramatic changes in the Great Lakes, affecting plants and fish.

Zebra mussels clog water-intake systems of power plants and water treatment facilities, as well as irrigation systems, and the cooling systems of boat engines. They have severely reduced, and may eliminate native mussel species.

[CornField]

5. Rusty Crayfish

Rusty crayfish have invaded portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario, and many other areas. Although native to parts of some Great Lakes states, rusty crayfish have spread to many northern lakes and streams where they cause a variety of ecological problems.

Rusty crayfish were probably spread by non-resident anglers who brought them north to use as fishing bait.

Rusty crayfish may cause a variety of negative environmental and economic impacts when introduced to new waters. First, they are an aggressive species that often displace native or existing crayfish species. Rusty crayfish displace other crayfish species through a combination of crayfish-to-crayfish competition and increased fish predation.

Perhaps the most serious impact is the destruction of aquatic plant beds.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. Weren't all species, at one time or another, "non-native"?

Humans started off in a remote corner of Africa, according to the scientists, and spread across the globe.

I imagine that algae didn't pop up everywhere at once.

[naturalselection]

10. We classify species as native or exotic

based on the type location of the species. So where it was first identified. Then a distribution of that species dictates it as native in that distribution.
We classify "exotic" species as those that are introduced - intentionally or accidentally - from its native range into an area where the species did not previously occur.
The labelling of North American species as "native" did not start until European settlers arrived.
This, of course, did not occur until we started classifying organisms. So yes, species that may have existed somewhere else, then moved or expanded its range prior to classification. But we tend to use distributions that are more recent in classification.

[CornField]

7. Sea Lamphrey

Sea lampreys are primitive fish native to the Atlantic Ocean. In the Great Lakes they have no commercial value and fish do not normally feed on them. Lacking jaws, their round mouths form a sucking disc filled with sharp, horn-shaped teeth that surround a rasping tongue. Unlike most fish, a lamprey's body has cartilage but no bones, scaleless skin, no paired fins, no lateral line, and no swim bladder.

Sea lampreys entered the Great Lakes from the Atlantic Ocean through man-made shipping canals and were first observed in Lake Ontario in the 1830's. Niagara Falls acted as a natural barrier preventing sea lamprey movement to Lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior. However, when the Welland Canal, constructed to bypass the falls, was deepened in 1919, sea lampreys gained access to the rest of the Great Lakes.

Sea lampreys are parasitic pests. They attach to fish with their suction mouth and teeth, and use their tongue to rasp through a fish's scales and skin so they can feed on its blood and body fluids.

[naturalselection]

8. House sparrow and European Starling

introduced. Now they outcompete native cavity nesting birds. They tend to nest earlier than most native species, will harass native birds (bluebirds) until the native gives up the nest site. If you have nest boxes, house sparrows and starlings thank you!
These species are legal to remove, so you can control their populations (as best as possible).

[muriel_volestrangler]

23. Ironically, both birds have suffered a population crash in Britain

http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/h/housesparrow/population_trends_and_conservation.asp

"The population crashed during the 1990s. Over 25 years the population has declined by 62%. Because of this decline in numbers, the house sparrow is now red listed as a species of high conservation concern."

http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/s/starling/population_trends_and_conservation.asp

"Long term monitoring by the British Trust for Ornithology shows that starling numbers have fallen by 66% in Britain since the mid-1970s. Because of this decline in numbers, the starling is red listed as a bird of high conservation concern."

[lukasahero]

24. We can send you some if you wish.

:-)

[lukasahero]

12. Non-native, invasive flora and fauna

Birds:
European Starlings
House Sparrows - both starlings and house sparrows are largely responsible for the decimation of our native Blue Bird populations
Pigeons
Mute swan
Cattle Egret
Muscovy duck

Misc fauna:
Africanized honeybees
Asian tiger mosquito
European gypsy moth
Red imported fire ant
Hemlock wooly adelgid (responsible for the almost guaranteed decimation of Eastern Hemlocks)
Wild boar (responsible for an uncontrollable rise in mosquito populations in Hawaiiwhich are infesting native birds with avian malaria and small pox - wiping out much of the native bird populations)
Nutria (decimating Louisiana and Maryland's coastlines)

Flora:
Phragmites australis
Eurasian milfoil
Purple loosestrife
Burning bush

Many, many more here: http://www.invasive.org/eastern/

I've tried to stay out of the discussions thus far because I just can't get it in my head that democrats, those people who are supposed to be pro-environment and pro-animals, can take the "I'll let my cat out if I want to and screw the birds" attitude. It is both pro-animal (the health and safety of your cat) and pro-environment (the balance and health of our national ecology) to keep your cats indoors.

I am not an advocate of "hunting cats" (heck, I'm not much of an advocate of hunting period) but we MUST do something to begin to control these invasive, non-native populations. It is incumbent on us, as democrats who are supposed to understand the value of a healthy environment, to come up with humane solutions if we can't stomach the alternatives. Covering your ears and eyes and denying the problem is not the answer.

[ragin_acadian]

13. PLEASE SAVE MY PRECIOUS FORMOSAN TERMITES

stay away from my cute little termites, you evil exterminators!

i know they are eating up most of New Orleans, and have been sighted as far east as Blue Water Bay in Okaloosa county, but they are so cute and innocent, i can't see how anyone would want to destroy them.

sarcasm off.

Fire ants are a non-native species that are destroying indigenous species of ants in the southeast,

and don't forget africanized killer bees.

[TX-RAT]

16. Fire Ants

My hunters from Louisiana and Georgia say the fire ants have basically wiped out the quail. Seems the ants attack the hatch-ling immediately after breaking open the shell. They've shown me pics of nests after the fire ants are through, most never even made it out of the shell. They are also affecting the gator nests.

[ragin_acadian]

18. wow, that's pretty sickening.

gators are under fire already with increases in temperature and habitat loss.

U.of F is looking into two possible solutions for the fire ant problem

1. there is a type of gnat that lays it's eggs on a fire ants head, the larvae gestate within the ant, then hatch. this doesn't seem very promising since the ants breed so fast, and the gnat may attack native species

2. another insect (can't remember the species) that can mimic the pheremones of a fire ant, thus infiltrate the nest, and put the drones to work bringing it food. this seems effective because it will starve the queen of the colony.

i dunno, whatever the entomologists are doing down there, they better do it fast.

[TX-RAT]

20. Bringing in one species to control another, worries me.

When my brother was stationed in Guam, he told me about the Shrews they brought in to take care of a rat problem. seems the Shrews were to small to handle the rats, so the Shrews got out of control, then they brought in the Brown tree snake to deal with the Shrews. seems the snake found it easier to catch birds, and we all know how that story ended.

[ragin_acadian]

25. yeah, very difficult problems,

non-native species to combat non-native species, and where does it end. sometimes pointy headed people just add to the problem, too. your brother's story would almost be funny, a'la monty python, if it weren't true.

on another note, i heard that they are thinking of introducing a genetically modified version of the mosquito to the southeast that will breed with other mosquitos, which will hopefully eradicate the population within four generations. no more east nile, no more mosquito. side effect: no more wildlife that feed on mosquito's. and on up the food chain, i suppose.

[TX-RAT]

15. Fire Ants

[CornField]

17. Feral Hogs/Pigs

A feral hog is any hog, including Russian and European wild boar, not identified by ear tags or other forms of identification. We had problems with feral hogs attacking our livestock.

[TX-RAT]

22. Big problem here.

Have taken many off of my place over the years.

[blindpig]

19. Burmese pythons, nile moniter lizards, cane toads, Cuban treefrogs

and that's just in south Florida. We've sure made a mess of this place(Earth) and IMHO are morally obliged to minimise the damaged that we have caused.

Great thread, I have been dispairing of this whole cat wars bs but you've shown that some good can come of it.

[CornField]

21. Soybean Rust (just made it to the states in 04)

This has the potential of drastically reducing (if not completely ending) soybean farming in the US.

Soybean rust, a disease spread primarily by wind-borne spores, has been confirmed in nine states since it was first discovered in the United States on Nov. 10 in Louisiana. Other states include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri and South Carolina.

I'm glad my father has died and didn't ever know that soybean rust made it into the US. You know, because that would have killed him. :) (He loved dark humor, BTW.)