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Invasive Species

Well done!

A South Florida teenager captured 28 Burmese pythons during a 10-day competition that was created to increase awareness about the threats the invasive snakes pose to the state’s ecology.

Matthew Concepcion was among 1,000 participants from 32 states, Canada and Latvia who participated in the annual challenge, which removed 231 of the unwanted pythons, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

The 19-year-old was rewarded for his efforts with the 10,000 US dollars (£8,785) Ultimate Grand Prize courtesy of the Bergeron Everglades Foundation.

Dustin Crum won a 1,500 dollars (£1,318) for removing the longest python – one measuring just over 11ft (3.3m).

Earlier this year, a team of biologists hauled in the heaviest Burmese python ever captured in Florida. The female weighed in at 215lb (98kg), was nearly 18ft long (5m) and had 122 developing eggs, according to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40992431.html
 
Well done!

A South Florida teenager captured 28 Burmese pythons during a 10-day competition that was created to increase awareness about the threats the invasive snakes pose to the state’s ecology.

Matthew Concepcion was among 1,000 participants from 32 states, Canada and Latvia who participated in the annual challenge, which removed 231 of the unwanted pythons, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

The 19-year-old was rewarded for his efforts with the 10,000 US dollars (£8,785) Ultimate Grand Prize courtesy of the Bergeron Everglades Foundation.

Dustin Crum won a 1,500 dollars (£1,318) for removing the longest python – one measuring just over 11ft (3.3m).

Earlier this year, a team of biologists hauled in the heaviest Burmese python ever captured in Florida. The female weighed in at 215lb (98kg), was nearly 18ft long (5m) and had 122 developing eggs, according to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40992431.html

I wish they would make the removal of the pythons an ongoing, all year long process. I suspect that the officials do not because they do not want to deal with the logistics and expense of amateur snake hunters roaming the swamps and getting lost, needing help - and being eaten by snakes and alligators.

Weird reptile fact-of-the-day: some of the Florida Keys, that string of islands in the Gulf of Mexico, have both alligators AND crocodiles. Both are native species.
 
Coypus reach Jersey.

Islanders are being asked to report sightings of a non-native rodent, described as a "large rat", that has been spotted in Jersey.

The animal, a coypu, was seen at Rozel by members of the public this week, the States said. It asked islanders not to approach the animal, but instead report it to the government's Natural Environment Group.

Nathan Hayes, States senior scientific officer of biosecurity, said it could be a threat to other species. Commenting on how it arrived on the island he said: "They are semi-aquatic, they can swim, but it's a good 12-mile (19km) swim for them so it could have been an unwanted stowaway on a boat or something like that.They can hold their breath for about 10 minutes under water but the currents... are really strong around Jersey, so it would be unlikely - but the honest answer is we just don't know."

Mr Hayes said the species had colonised waterways in Brittany, France, but they were native to South America.

The States said: "The rodent, which looks like a large rat, is a non-native, invasive species.

"Islanders are advised not to approach the coypu, but to report sightings."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-jersey-63424831
 
Well done!

A South Florida teenager captured 28 Burmese pythons during a 10-day competition that was created to increase awareness about the threats the invasive snakes pose to the state’s ecology.

Matthew Concepcion was among 1,000 participants from 32 states, Canada and Latvia who participated in the annual challenge, which removed 231 of the unwanted pythons, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

The 19-year-old was rewarded for his efforts with the 10,000 US dollars (£8,785) Ultimate Grand Prize courtesy of the Bergeron Everglades Foundation.

Dustin Crum won a 1,500 dollars (£1,318) for removing the longest python – one measuring just over 11ft (3.3m).

Earlier this year, a team of biologists hauled in the heaviest Burmese python ever captured in Florida. The female weighed in at 215lb (98kg), was nearly 18ft long (5m) and had 122 developing eggs, according to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40992431.html
good to see em go before they ruin the delicate everglades wilderness
 
Now they're dining on pygmy shrews.

Scientists at the University of Galway have published the first record of a noble false widow spider feeding on a pygmy shrew, a species of tiny mammal protected in Ireland.

It is the first time a member of this family of spiders, called ‘Theridiidae,’ has been recorded preying on a shrew in Ireland or Britain, and shows how the spider "is perfectly adapted to take down large prey".

It is also the first time any species of false widow spider to has been recorded preying on shrews anywhere in the world.

Researchers said this is the third case in recent years of a protected vertebrate species falling prey to the noble false widow in Ireland or Britain, and represents the eighth species of vertebrate known to fall prey to members of the spider.

The study has found that the noble false widow "now appears to be a regular vertebrate-eating spider".

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41076608.html
 
Now they're dining on pygmy shrews.

Scientists at the University of Galway have published the first record of a noble false widow spider feeding on a pygmy shrew, a species of tiny mammal protected in Ireland.

It is the first time a member of this family of spiders, called ‘Theridiidae,’ has been recorded preying on a shrew in Ireland or Britain, and shows how the spider "is perfectly adapted to take down large prey".

It is also the first time any species of false widow spider to has been recorded preying on shrews anywhere in the world.

Researchers said this is the third case in recent years of a protected vertebrate species falling prey to the noble false widow in Ireland or Britain, and represents the eighth species of vertebrate known to fall prey to members of the spider.

The study has found that the noble false widow "now appears to be a regular vertebrate-eating spider".

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41076608.html
Pygmy shrews are so cute. Is the false widow spider an invasive species, or is it endemic to Ireland?
 
Now they're dining on pygmy shrews.

Scientists at the University of Galway have published the first record of a noble false widow spider feeding on a pygmy shrew, a species of tiny mammal protected in Ireland.

It is the first time a member of this family of spiders, called ‘Theridiidae,’ has been recorded preying on a shrew in Ireland or Britain, and shows how the spider "is perfectly adapted to take down large prey".

It is also the first time any species of false widow spider to has been recorded preying on shrews anywhere in the world.

Researchers said this is the third case in recent years of a protected vertebrate species falling prey to the noble false widow in Ireland or Britain, and represents the eighth species of vertebrate known to fall prey to members of the spider.

The study has found that the noble false widow "now appears to be a regular vertebrate-eating spider".

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41076608.html

:puke2:

Kill them all.

maximus otter
 
I presume that euphemize the pythons they catch (maybe the use the skin ?)

About the Signal Crayfish in UK waters, I have never understood the authorities reluctance to let people hunt them, as a food stuff they have some value, and we know if something natural has value, it soon becomes scarce, I remember an old gardener telling about Mares Tail (a fast spreading weed) he said if you paid people for it, it would be extinct in a year
 
:puke2:

Kill them all.

maximus otter
1677275646997.png
 

Goats run loose in San Francisco and no one knows where they came from


Several goats were seen running loose in San Francisco on Wednesday, and no one seems to know where they came from.

A video posted to Reddit on Wednesday afternoon shows at least four goats running through the South Beach neighborhood near Rincon Hill Dog Park as several onlookers try, unsuccessfully, to corral them. At the end of the video, the goats run off into the distance.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/goats-running-around-san-francisco-17829954.php

maximus otter
 

Goats run loose in San Francisco and no one knows where they came from


Several goats were seen running loose in San Francisco on Wednesday, and no one seems to know where they came from.

A video posted to Reddit on Wednesday afternoon shows at least four goats running through the South Beach neighborhood near Rincon Hill Dog Park as several onlookers try, unsuccessfully, to corral them. At the end of the video, the goats run off into the distance.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/goats-running-around-san-francisco-17829954.php

maximus otter

Given the current goat situation in Cromer perhaps they were shipped to San Francisco from there. The sole remaining goat will be sent to SF with a flower in his hair as soon as he's caught.
 

Goats run loose in San Francisco and no one knows where they came from


Several goats were seen running loose in San Francisco on Wednesday, and no one seems to know where they came from.

A video posted to Reddit on Wednesday afternoon shows at least four goats running through the South Beach neighborhood near Rincon Hill Dog Park as several onlookers try, unsuccessfully, to corral them. At the end of the video, the goats run off into the distance.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/goats-running-around-san-francisco-17829954.php

maximus otter
Escaped from the goatsuckers?
 
Now Zebra Mussels are hitchhiking rides on fish.

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are one of the most catastrophic aquatic invasive species in North America.

Native to Russia and Ukraine, these fingernail-size mollusks have spread around the world, often carried in ballast water—used to stabilize boats—as larvae, where they’ve caused billions of dollars of damage to fisheries, water treatment facilities, and other aquatic industries by clogging intake pipes and robbing nutrients from ecosystems. Now, researchers have discovered a new way they invade—by hitchhiking on fish.

The scientists made the observation while assessing fish communities in a lake in southeastern Quebec last year. They found a zebra mussel attached to a lake chub (Couesius plumbeus), a species of minnow typically about 12 centimeters long. The observation, reported this month in Biological Invasions, is the only time a nonlarval freshwater bivalve has been seen attached to a fish. The mollusk had latched onto the hapless minnow (pictured above) using protein fibers called byssal threads, which they also use to attach to plants, rocks, and concrete. ...

https://www.science.org/content/art...t-dangerous-invasive-species-hitchhiking-fish
 
This cloud has a silver lining.

Scientists see anti-aging potential in an invasive weed​

Cocklebur extracts could protect skin, speed wound healing and ward off wrinkles

The fruit of the cocklebur plant, which grows worldwide and is often considered a noxious weed, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory components that could make it useful as a skin protectant, according to new research.

Researchers found that compounds in the species’ spiky fruits reduced damage from UVB exposure and sped wound healing in laboratory tests using cells and tissues. The cocklebur extracts also appear to influence the production of collagen, a protein that gives skin its elasticity and prevents wrinkles.

“We found that cocklebur fruit has the potential to protect the skin and help enhance production of collagen,” said Eunsu Song, a doctoral candidate at Myongji University in South Korea, who conducted the research with Myongji University Professsor Jinah Hwang. “In this regard, it could be an attractive ingredient for creams or other cosmetic forms. It will likely show a synergistic effect if it is mixed with other effective compounds, such as hyaluronic acid or retinoic acid, against aging.”

thumb-invasive-weed.jpg

Xanthium (cocklebur) is native to the Americas and eastern Asia.

Song will present the new research at Discover BMB, the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, March 25–28 in Seattle.

Cocklebur is a plant native to Southern Europe, Central Asia and China that has spread worldwide, often found in moist or sandy areas such as roadside ditches and riverbanks. Its distinctive fruits, covered in stiff husks and burrs, have been used for centuries in traditional medicines for headache, stuffy nose, disorders of skin pigmentation, tuberculosis-related illness and rheumatoid arthritis. In recent years scientists have explored its potential use in treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and cancer.

The new study is the first to examine the fruit’s properties as a wound-healing agent and skin protectant. Researchers first studied the molecular properties of cocklebur fruit extracts and isolated particular compounds that could contribute to anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. They then used cell cultures and a 3D tissue model with properties similar to human skin to study how these compounds affect collagen production, wound healing and damage from UVB radiation.

The results showed that the cocklebur fruit extracts encouraged collagen production, sped wound healing and exerted a protective effect against UVB radiation. Comparing the bioactivity of cocklebur fruits grown in different places, the researchers found that fruits grown in South Korea had slightly higher anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and greater wound-healing activity than those grown in China.

https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/science/032923/cocklebur-anti-aging-potential
 
This cloud has a silver lining.

Scientists see anti-aging potential in an invasive weed​


thumb-invasive-weed.jpg

Xanthium (cocklebur) is native to the Americas and eastern Asia.
Burdock is prickly and sticks to everything. Really don't need more of it. My long haired cat somehow sits(?) in it and I have to brush his stomach to get it out. Fun times.
 
AI Battles Bugs.

Drone technology and artificial intelligence (AI) will be deployed by a leading Co. Cork-based institute, which is partnering with Teagasc, to monitor a highly invasive insect species as part of a new European research project.

Tyndall National Institute and Teagasc have teamed up to monitor and “sustainably manage” the Halyomorpha halys – which is more commonly known as the “brown marmorated stink bug”.

The insect, which has been detected in Europe and the UK since 2018, can damage significant amounts of tree fruit crops and some vegetable and arable crops.

The brown marmorated stink bugs can also hibernate in buildings and emit a foul odour.

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/cork-researchers-using-ai-to-monitor-invasive-insect-species/
 
Even the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is beset by invaders,

Coastal critters thought to be strangers to the open ocean have been found amongst the seething mass of plastic waste that is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

"The issues of plastic go beyond just ingestion and entanglement," Linsey Haram, a marine ecologist formerly at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, explained when in the process of conducting her research. "It's creating opportunities for coastal species' biogeography to greatly expand beyond what we previously thought was possible."


Haram first drew attention to the emergence of coastal species on buoyant plastic rafts adrift in the open ocean with a paper she co-authored that warned this could be a new route by which coastal critters invade new, unsuspecting habitats.

Rarely documented until now, one historical example was of coastal-dwelling invertebrates hitching a ride across the North Pacific Ocean on plastic debris swept out to sea in the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Hundreds of invertebrate species clung on for six years to debris that washed ashore in North America and Hawaii in 2017.

But the extent to which coastal species, once assumed incapable of surviving long periods of time on the high seas, hopped aboard rafts of plastic waste remained largely unknown. What kinds of species are finding refuge in the refuse? What new communities are forming on the high seas far beyond their usual limits?

To answer those questions, Haram sampled debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the swirling mass of plastic buoys, buckets, bottles, rope, and fishing nets that continues to accumulate in the North Pacific Ocean, thousands of kilometers from any coastline. ...

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-gr...il&utm_term=0_fe5632fb09-ceaa53cfb5-366142957
 
I reckon just catch and eat it. End of problem.

The public has been asked to report sightings of the Pacific pink salmon spotted in Irish waters over the coming months, which poses a “competitive threat” to native species.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has called upon the public to look out for the non-native fish species, which began appearing in unprecedented numbers across a number of river systems throughout 2017, 2019, and 2021.

With a two-year lifecycle, the Pacific pink salmon is expected to re-appear in Irish waters again this year, and every second or ‘odd’ year, afterward.
Senior Research Officer at the IFI, Dr Michael Millane, said: “The presence of large numbers of this non-native species potentially pose a competitive threat to the survival of our native species such as Atlantic salmon and sea trout, as well as estuarine and coastal marine fish species, and their associated ecosystems.

Dr Millane has appealed to anglers and water users to “quickly contact us regarding any sightings”. “As these fish die after spawning, some dead specimens could also be encountered along Irish rivers,” he added.

Encounters of the salmon can be reported to IFI’s 24/7 phone number, 0818 34 74 24, or via [email protected].

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41142283.html
 
Beware of hairy caterpillars.

An infestation of harmful caterpillars have destroyed oak trees in Dublin with an urgent warning for members of the public to report sightings.

Nests belonging to the Oak Processionary Moth (OPM), or Thaumetopoea processionea were found in four oak trees in a housing estate in the capital. The invasive creepy crawlies start out as distinctive, "hairy" caterpillars and they pose a health risk to people and animals because of their irritating hairs which can cause allergic reactions or skin rashes.

The OPM caterpillars feed on oak tree foliage and can severely weaken trees. The nests have since been destroyed according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Ireland has a Protected Zone status under the EU Plant Health legislation for this pest.

The Department has launched an investigation into the infestation. Anyone who comes across these OPM caterpillars are being urged not to touch them or attempt to move them.

https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/health-warning-after-infestation-harmful-27110540
 
Beware of hairy caterpillars.

An infestation of harmful caterpillars have destroyed oak trees in Dublin with an urgent warning for members of the public to report sightings.

Nests belonging to the Oak Processionary Moth (OPM), or Thaumetopoea processionea were found in four oak trees in a housing estate in the capital. The invasive creepy crawlies start out as distinctive, "hairy" caterpillars and they pose a health risk to people and animals because of their irritating hairs which can cause allergic reactions or skin rashes.

The OPM caterpillars feed on oak tree foliage and can severely weaken trees. The nests have since been destroyed according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Ireland has a Protected Zone status under the EU Plant Health legislation for this pest.

The Department has launched an investigation into the infestation. Anyone who comes across these OPM caterpillars are being urged not to touch them or attempt to move them.

https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/health-warning-after-infestation-harmful-27110540
We get tent caterpillars here, though they are native. Their hairs can be very irritating.
 
NI faces another invasion,

An invasive species of insect is putting ash trees in Northern Ireland under threat, ecologists have warned.

If you have visited areas around the tree-lined towpath which leads from central Belfast to Lisburn recently, you may have noticed some trees are all but bare of their summer leaves. You may also have noticed hordes of tiny lime-green caterpillars beneath them. But these caterpillars will not turn into butterflies. They are the larvae of the ash sawfly, a highly destructive species thought to have arrived in Northern Ireland in 2016.

During the months of May and June, the caterpillars build up in large numbers and can devour every leaf on an ash tree leaving a bare, skeletonised canopy.

Larvae infestation

Image caption, A larvae infestation on a tree in the Belvoir estate

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-65884272
 
A human/piranha hybrid?

A young boy in Oklahoma has caught a bizarre, piranha-like fish with eerily human-like teeth hidden behind its fishy lips.

Charlie Clinton caught the exotic fish, known as a pacu, in his "neighborhood pond" on the weekend of July 15, according to a Facebook post from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC).

Pacu is a name given to several species of fish in the Serrasalmidae family. They are native to South America and are closely related to piranhas, with a similar body shape to their razor-toothed cousins. Pacus enter freshwater ecosystems in the U.S. when people keep them as pets but irresponsibly release them into nearby ponds and rivers when they grow too big for their tanks, ODWC officials wrote.

https://www.livescience.com/animals...uman-teeth-caught-by-young-angler-in-oklahoma
 
urgh! I miss elms, I really don't want ashes (ashs?) to go too :( Not that anyone wants it.
I can ship you a bunch of elm tree seeds or you could come dig some up in my neighbors yards. They are an invasive species in this area. They ruin sewer and water lines, take over cactus gardens etc.
 
I can ship you a bunch of elm tree seeds or you could come dig some up in my neighbors yards. They are an invasive species in this area. They ruin sewer and water lines, take over cactus gardens etc.

alas, attempts to replant have failed - they go down with the same disease :( But a lovely htought,
 
Actually aren't there a few surviving large Elm trees in the centre of Brighton?

There were two that I know of in Brighton (think one may have come down?), when I saw them I had that "I don't recognise these,b ut I think I should", moments.
 
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