Carp ninjas

Wild times bring wild responses.  Peoria fishermen are finding a new way to hunt the absolutely crazy jumping carp that are invading waters in the midwestern US...they've become carp ninjas.  Check out the video above.

Thanks to:  Switchboard

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Learning to love invasive species

Not every invasive species is bad; witness the outcry over the decline of invasive honeybees. Can we look past the horror stories and calls for eradication and find a reasoned view on invasions?

The new science of conciliation biology aims to find means to understand and manage invaded ecosystems when invasive species bring value.

Can such heresy survive? Is this a quirky, contrarian view that belongs in a small box along with climate change deniers and flat-earthers? Some biologists with more purist leanings find reasons to object, although even critics admit that it may be time to stop trying to eradicate aliens simply because they're alien.

We may see more open-minded consideration of invasive species in the future, as ocean acidification and climate change threaten ecosystem functions. Perhaps we'll come to rely on and even love invaders that replace the functions of keystone species lost to global change.

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The joy of cooking lionfish

Lionfish look scary, and they're nasty invaders that are taking over where they don't belong. So, let's fire up the overfishing machine that has done such a good job of threatening some old favorites like Atlantic halibut and Atlantic cod.

A new cookbook aims to help, the Lionfish Cookbook. Why not get people's appetites in line with conservation priorities, so that overconsumption becomes a virtue.

How about some Braised Lionfish in Szechuan Hot Bean Sauce? Yum.

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Scary crayfish threatens Madagascar

Listen to the frightening description of a new alien species invading Madagascar, and you'll picture something like this (right).

"...voracious self-cloning crayfish, which are gobbling their way through rice paddies and threatening endemic crayfish species."

But what is it really? Just a small "freshwater lobster" (left) that has existed peacably in the Southeastern US until it was apparently accidentally transplanted into Madagascar as a lost or abandoned pet.

That's the dilemma of invasive species--plunking something down in new place can transform it into something harmful. Listen to news reports from Madagascar on this beastie:

Local daily Midi Madagasikara quoted a farmer from a small village on the outskirts of Antananarivo as saying his catch of tilapia had fallen by about 75 per cent since the crayfish appeared.

The crayfish "will eat any plant matter, including rice. In fact, they'll eat any biological matter," the biologists warned.

They also reproduce at an explosive rate, producing up to 400 eggs in 40 days during the warm rainy season.

In 2003, German scientists proved that the marmorkrebs could clone itself. Although the crayfish also reproduced sexually, females were able to lay eggs which hatched without being fertilized.

Known as parthenogenisis, this type of unisex reproduction is effectively a form of natural cloning.

Bad juju. And I grew up thinking crayfish were nothing more than cute and yummy. Maybe a good market will help keep them under control?

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A border fence for ocean invaders

There's a foreign scourge that's wreaking havoc with our economy. And it needs to be stopped. We need a border fence to stop invasive species from ruining our ocean ecosystems.

Thanks to an environmental group called scrappy by the Portland Oregonian, we just might get some better rules that help build something like a border fence for invasive ocean species.

The problem comes from ballast water pumped into the cargo areas of ships when they're in one port, and then pumped out in another port. Along for the ride come a whole host of undocumented workers looking to find jobs in their new homes.

Things like zebra mussels, which are expected to cost the U.S. $3.1 billion over the next ten years. Yes, that's billion with a B. Ouch.

Thanks to my Reed College classmate Nina Bell, Executive Director of the scrappy Northwest Environmental Advocates, we just might get some relief. According to Nina,

"The handwriting is on the wall that it's time for the shipping industry to get serious," said Nina Bell, executive director of the group. "If EPA had spent its resources regulating this problem instead of fighting, we'd all be better off."

Hmmm...that sounds familiar. Sort of like the overfishing problem. Oh well, let's hope a new administration finds a better path forward.

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