Invasive Species

[ramonmercado]

Vid at link.

'Alien' barnacles washed up on Isles of Scilly

Thousands of goose barnacles have washed up on the Isles of Scilly attached to a piece of driftwood. Photographer and wildlife expert Lucy McRobert, who lives on St Mary's, was tipped off by a friend about a long length of wood on the beach at St Mary's Harbour. The wood was encrusted with "thousands of goose barnacles."

Published 2 days ago

Section BBC News. Subsection Cornwall.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-devon-55078745

 

[EnolaGaia]

Florida's recently inaugurated experiment with using dogs to track down invasive pythons has had its first success.

Florida’s new python-sniffing dogs have 1st success

Truman, the python-sniffing black Labrador retriever, recently tracked down his first snake in a new program Florida is using to eradicate the invasive species.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently began training Truman and another dog named Eleanor to detect a python’s scent and alert handlers when they’ve come across one. The first success was last week when Truman found an 8-foot (2.4-meter) Burmese python in the Rocky Glades Public Small Game Hunting Area in Miami-Dade County. ...

FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/wildlife-snakes-miami-florida-dogs-946cadff4d27bdcefb44f1259de6493a

 

[EnolaGaia]

Florida officials are meeting resistance to their proposed ban on multiple types of invasive reptiles that have caused extensive damage and expensive responses.

'Snake-pocalypse'? Florida plans ban on owning pythons, many other 'high-risk' reptiles

If wildlife officials get their way later this month, Florida will ban owning or breeding six types of pythons, the green anaconda and nine other "high-risk" reptiles.

Biologists say the scaly subjects of their prohibition wreak ecological mayhem by swallowing native birds, mammals as large as deer, and in the Burmese python's case, also spread a foreign parasite that chokes native pygmy rattlesnakes to death.

But serpent lovers and critics of the proposal say the move is nothing less than a state-orchestrated snake-pocalypse targeting their pets and businesses. ...

FWC says Burmese pythons and the other 15 exotic species are a significant threat to Florida’s ecology, economy and human health and safety. And managing the threat is not cheap. FWC and its federal partners spend more than $8 million a year to manage not just the animals but the destruction they cause.

Iguanas, for one, burrow into and cause extensive damage to seawalls, canal banks, roads and water control structures. And dealing with tegu lizards alone consumes a third of the agency's budget for managing invasive species. ...

FULL STORY: https://news.yahoo.com/snake-pocalypse-florida-plans-ban-120033363.html

 

[Nosmo King]

I think there is a certain amout of prejudice when it cines to non native/invasive species in the UK with regard to the cuteness/attractiveness/tastiness factor, rabbits, grey squirrils and muntjack deer are all invasive species that cause untold damage to the enviroment but no consolidated extermination program is in place to deal with them, why? Because they are cute, where as singnal crayfish and asian hornets, for example are ugly and concerted efforts are being made to exterminate these populations, plants such as rhododendron and acer (Japanese Maple) are attractive to look at but are an invasive species and are generally left alone where as Japanese knot weed and floating pennywort are not so pleasing on the eye and are routinly destroyed, rainbow trout are a tasty fish and no effort is made to remove them, where as the top-mouth gudgeon, not so tasty and massive efforts are made to destroy these invaders.

 

[Jim]

Florida officials are meeting resistance to their proposed ban on multiple types of invasive reptiles that have caused extensive damage and expensive responses.


FULL STORY: https://news.yahoo.com/snake-pocalypse-florida-plans-ban-120033363.html

I mean it's not like they didn't have enough to start with. Florida has more species of snakes than any other state in the US, not to mention alligators and american crocodiles.

 

[hunck]

I mean it's not like they didn't have enough to start with. Florida has more species of snakes than any other state in the US, not to mention alligators and american crocodiles.

The Alligators & Crocs are native though, not invasive.

 

[Jim]

The Alligators & Crocs are native though, not invasive.

That the point of my post, neither were the 45 native snake species. Clarity is all

 

[maximus otter]

...muntjack deer are...invasive species that cause untold damage to the enviroment but no consolidated extermination program is in place to deal with them...

maximus otter

 

[Kondoru]

You need to work a bit harder then.

They eat anything and breed all year round, I was told by a hunting friend.

(And have wimpy antlers)

 

[Nosmo King]

You need to work a bit harder then.

They eat anything and breed all year round, I was told by a hunting friend.

(And have wimpy antlers)

But they do have fangs

 

[maximus otter]

You need to work a bit harder then.

They eat anything and breed all year round, I was told by a hunting friend.

(And have wimpy antlers)

a) Oddly, I haven't seen a munty on my permissions for many weeks.

b) Yes, they do: When I was in my teens DEFRA reckoned that there were about 5,000 muntjac in the UK. In 2009 that had increased to 150,000 and was increasing by about 8.2% per annum. I make that about 285,000 today. Not good news for our environment.

c) Its antlers and fangs may appear wimpy, but they know how to use them:

"Parents and pet owners have been warned to avoid an ill-tempered deer which slashed two dogs which disturbed it in a Bedfordshire park.

It is thought to be a Chinese water deer or Muntjac...

Ten dogs were savaged in and around Laurel Wood at Ampthill Park last winter and spring, and officials believe the same animal might be at work again this year.

"Gussie, our dog, had scampered off into a thicket.

"When she came back she had a big deep cut on one side and slashes on her leg.

"We took her to the vet. They were really nasty, deep wounds."

Treatment including stitches and having the wound drained cost £600."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/8303280.stm

maximus otter

 

[Mythopoeika]

A small deer ran across the road ahead of my car recently. I'm always encountering deer, foxes, pheasants or squirrels crossing the road. Have to be ultra-careful.

 

[hunck]

That the point of my post, neither were the 45 native snake species. Clarity is all

According to the report they're proposing to ban only the foreign imports/invasive species which have become a problem to native species/environment. OK, Florida may have plenty of native snake species of it's own but presumably the FWC want to keep these.

 

[Nosmo King]

According to the report they're proposing to ban only the foreign imports/invasive species which have become a problem to native species/environment. OK, Florida may have plenty of native snake species of it's own but presumably the FWC want to keep these.

There are yearly python hunts that take place in Flodida, professionaly hunters from all over the world compete to kill as many as they can over the event, Kathy Reichs bases one of her novels around one of these events

https://kathyreichs.com/swamp-bones/

 

[Jim]

There are yearly python hunts that take place in Flodida, professionaly hunters from all over the world compete to kill as many as they can over the event, Kathy Reichs bases one of her novels around one of these events

https://kathyreichs.com/swamp-bones/

They would do better with a season long bounty vs these glamor shows. If the moneys enough trappers - hunters will do the rest.

 

[ramonmercado]

Vid at link.

Northern Pacific seastar: The sea intruder causing havoc in Tasmania


The Northern Pacific seastar has spread rapidly through the River Derwent in Tasmania, Australia, since it was introduced from Japan in the 1980s.
Tasmanians hope a new effort to remove the species - which has no predator locally - will help save the critically endangered spotted handfish.

Video by Isabelle Rodd

Published12 hours ago

Section BBC News Subsection Australia

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-australia-56276521

 

[Nosmo King]

Gardeners be on the look out

Brown stink bug among 'future threats' to gardens

Gardeners are being urged to be on alert for the stink bug insect and other pests set to arrive in the UK.

The brown marmorated stink bug has been spotted at three places in England so far, but experts are warning that it may become more widespread.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56366107

 

[ramonmercado]

They might not be as big as Cromer crabs but they're still not welcome.

It may be a pleasantly exotic surprise when roaming the beach, but the public has been told that any sightings of blue crabs should be reported to biodiversity experts as soon as possible.

The National Biodiversity Data Centre, the organisation which collects and analyses data on Ireland’s biological diversity, warned that the first official blue crab sighting on the country's shores could be a sign that they have entered the Irish ecosystem, potentially threatening the existing environment. It said there was currently limited information on the occurrence of this species in Ireland, hence the call for people to submit any suspected sightings with photos.

"This is the first blue crab sighting in Ireland, and it was seen and photographed on February 15 by Ruth McManus on Dollymount Strand," the centre said. "A second report was submitted on March 9 by Wesley Bell, this time of a blue crab claw found on Dollymount Strand."

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40242557.html

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Raccoon Dogs are on their way - and did I spot one yesterday?

Yesterday, me and my wife hiked a short stretch of The Ridgeway, finishing up at Ivinghoe Beacon.

We were lucky to have the beautiful scenery almost to ourselves, only passing two other hikers in the 4-5 mile walk.
Just before the steep hike up to the beacon itself, I spotted an animal I couldn't immediately identify some 20 metres off to my left.

I stopped and took a couple of steps towards it, but it scampered away into some bushes and I didn't see it again.

I only saw it for maybe two seconds. My impression was of a vaguely fox-shaped creature, but with much darker fur and hints of tortoiseshell markings.

Coincidentally, In today's Guardian, I just read this article about Raccoon Dogs set to become "the next non-native pest" and that one was recently sighted in Lincolnshire.

The photo looks very close to the animal I spotted, so I suspect there may be at least one Raccoon Dog on the loose in Buckinghamshire.



https://www.theguardian.com/environ...dogs-britain-non-native-pest-invasive-species

 

[Kondoru]

Its when they disguise themselves as a teapot you really have to worry.

 

[Endlessly Amazed]

Its when they disguise themselves as a teapot you really have to worry.

They really hate it when you pour out.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

In a classic piece of tabloid hyperbole, there are reports of people being "terrorised" and a village "under siege" by two raccoon dogs. Just as well I didn't get any closer to the ferocious brute!

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/dangerous-raccoon-dogs-spotted-britain-22337467

 

[Kondoru]

There, what did I say? Teapots?

 

[ramonmercado]

Alien seaweed attack.

Some of Ireland’s most important seagrass beds, which capture CO2 and provide a habitat for many marine species, are being damaged by the spread of an alien invasive seaweed, the environmental group Coastwatch has warned.

Seagrass beds in Kilmore Quay in Co Wexford, Bantry Bay in Co Cork and at Fenit beach in Tralee Bay, Co Kerry, have been overwhelmed by the species known as sargassum muticum. A large zostera marina seagrass meadow, straddling St Patrick’s Bridge near Kilmore Quay, is being progressively killed off, Coastwatch director Karin Dubsky confirmed.

“EU regulation and national law state that it is an offence to allow dispersal and spread of listed invasive alien species. Landowners who find a listed invasive species must act to prevent spread, but it is still unclear who is responsible at sea,” she added.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/env...sive-alien-seaweed-coastwatch-warns-1.4608204

 

[Nosmo King]

Goldfish owners in Minnisota have been urged not to release unwanted pets in to lakes and ponds.

"A city in the US state of Minnesota has urged residents not to release their unwanted pet fish into the wild after finding huge goldfish in a lake.

The common household pets can grow far bigger in the wild and cause major disruption to ecosystems.

The city of Burnsville shared images showing several monster goldfish caught during a survey of Keller Lake.

It said goldfish could contribute to poor water quality by disturbing sediment and uprooting plants."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57816922

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Goldfish owners in Minnisota have been urged not to release unwanted pets in to lakes and ponds.

See also post #180.

Question comes to mind, are they edible - could we have farmed, giant goldfish?

'Deep-fried large goldfish supper, salt, vinegar and two pickled eggs, please'.

 

[Nosmo King]

See also post #180.

Question comes to mind, are they edible - could we have farmed, giant goldfish?

'Deep-fried large goldfish supper, salt, vinegar and two pickled eggs, please'.

In Poland carp is a festival meal, also carp is eaten quite widely in the far east, so i guess you could eat goldfish

 

[Tempest63]

Question comes to mind, are they edible

We were on a Hurtigruten cruise two years back and they had a special dining night where they served up king crab. This was the Norwegian way of using this invasive species of crab that was causing problems. If they had charged a little less they would likely have shifted a lot more. The meal was lovely but they know how to charge at Hurtigruten

 

[Comfortably Numb]

In Poland carp is a festival meal...

Related article here!

My job is telling people from eastern Europe not to eat carp from UK rivers'

BBC News
7 December 2015

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-35028556.amp

 

[JamesWhitehead]

" . . . how do you shower if you have a big carp in your tub?"

Carp is also a favoured fish for Gefilte fish, beloved of Jewish folk. Maybe they just used what they could get!

British anglers, I understand, were always quite happy to throw them back, because their muddy taste reminded them of their facile anagram!