Invasive Species

Cappy

Cappy

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While eating brunch today, on acounta we didn't get around to cookin' brkfst.I was surfin' da tube when I came across a show on science channel talking about an invasive species taking over Europe's shores. filled with ominous music the narrator explained how this invader with no natural enemies is expanding at alarming rates and spreading north in danger of invading all the way to the arctic circle. The name of this scurge of the European coast line....... The king crab. OHHH NOOOO!!!:tinysmile_tongue_t: All's I can say faced with this scurge is....pass the butter:tinysmile_fatgrin_t
 
P

ppine

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Humankind has promoted the introduction of non-native species for a long time, and we have been very lackadaisical about preventing the encroachment by invasive species. All this has finally started to change.

King crabs in Europe, or lobsters in Puget Sound are a problem because they have the potential to outcompete the species that are native there. When non-native critters become abundant they can overwhelm the ecosystem. We have hundreds of examples of big time problems in the US that cause us billions of dollars every year. A few examples might be Lamprey eels, Asian carp, cheatgrass, freshwater clams, and mussels.
 
Newanderthal

Newanderthal

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The biggest problems threatening our country aren't pythons or crocs, but tallow trees, kudzu vines, and cats.

Tallow trees poison the ground with toxins that kill off other trees and they grow and reproduce at alarming rates.

Kudzu chokes out other vegetation and is taking over the south.

Cats kill hundreds of millions of birds, lizards, frogs, etc. every year and cause more ecological damage than any other species except for man.
 
ponderosa

ponderosa

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I haven't heard of kudzu, but the west has its own varieties of invasive plants that are huge problems, crowding out the native vegetation that the elk, deer etc rely on. Around here, invasive lake trout are a big issue. In the Yellowstone ecosystem, they are decimating the native cutthroat trout populations, which are crucial to the bears and birds of prey. The lake trout stay deep, and are not a food source for the birds or bears. Actually, introduced trout of several varieties are hurting the cutthroats. Nothing wrong with lake trout or king crabs (yummo on both counts), but in the wrong places, they really can cause havoc on the native ecosystems.
 
CozInCowtown

CozInCowtown

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Newanderthal said:
The biggest problems threatening our country aren't pythons or crocs, but tallow trees, kudzu vines, and cats.

Tallow trees poison the ground with toxins that kill off other trees and they grow and reproduce at alarming rates.

Kudzu chokes out other vegetation and is taking over the south.

Cats kill hundreds of millions of birds, lizards, frogs, etc. every year and cause more ecological damage than any other species except for man.
Click to expand...
I had a friend send his X-wife a new Kudzu potted plant when she got sick.
She planted it beside her house.....
 
Cappy

Cappy

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Pretty obvious why there is so dang many of them Coz, I mean just look at what they spend their 3 day life doing :p
 
T

Theosus

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Kudzu is "the vine that ate the south". There are crews in atlanta dedicated to control and eradication. It can grow six inches in A DAY under the right conditions. It looks sort of like a big grape vine. We have some problems with it around here, but not nearly what some other places deal with. It dies off in the winter and can be cut back, or else it will take off right where it stopped.
 
ChadTower

ChadTower

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I always thought the kudzu solutions are staring people in the face but they won't embrace them. They all want someone else to do the work.

Kudzu is edible. Eat it.
Kudzu is fibrous and carbohydrate based. Convert it to fuel and materials.
Kudzu grows in shallow topsoil without any major pest threats yet. Farm it.
Kudzu control is in extremely high demand. Buy some goats and set up a business.

Yeah, the stuff is eating the south, but IMO there are a ton of opportunities there and everybody else is sitting around waiting for others to seize them.
 
Grandpa

Grandpa

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Newanderthal said:
most people don't know this but tumbleweed is an invasive species. It comes from Russia.
Click to expand...
Russian thistle is indeed a nasty tumbleweed. But so is kochia, and some of the mustard family. Russian thistle and Canadian thistle are a real problem in the western states.
 
P

ppine

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The "Weeds of the West", a handbook of 616 pages is put out by the Western Society of Weed Science. It includes hundreds of introduced exotic species.
 
ChadTower

ChadTower

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That's not a reason to avoid fishing for them. That's a reason to fish for more of them. They're huge, they fight like hell, and they taste good. People here are way too hung up on specific species.

Why wouldn't someone want to fish for a massive thing that is plentiful, fights hard, AND you have no reason to throw it back?
 
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