Comments on: Aliens Among Us

By: The food on your table might create more invasive species

The food on your table might create more invasive species — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 23:33:47 +0000

[...] better success with a regulatory pathway, but unfortunately the problem remains that ecologists are not yet capable of predicting which particular species will get out of control (with a few exceptions; Burmese python in Florida [...]

By: Ellen Saxon

Ellen Saxon — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:15:09 +0000

I am from the east coast NSW in Australia
the species that my local area deals with in brief;
Lantana camara: originated from central and tropical south america.planted here as a garden hedge, now occupies many natural areas.one issue that is being researched is the correlation between lanata infestations, and blue gum forest die back. that is one example. the list of flora and fauna threatened by this single non-native species is too large for this comment box, please look at this webpage for more information:

http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/tsprofile/threat_profile.aspx?id=20044

By: Alrie Middlebrook

Alrie Middlebrook — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:45:26 +0000

Putting our individual self interests aside, the actual experience of observing
invasive species in the natural environment is a necessary part of this discussion. The philosophical examination of the invader is dually noted
and certainly has merit. Who amoung us has not been quick to negatively
generalize? That being said, there is no substitute for a phlosopher, an ecologist or a fisherman to take a walk and observe how an invasive species supresses diversity. There is something inherently jarring about this landscape. Actually seeing this, must in a profound way, inform this discussion. Otherwise, the emperor has no clothes.

By: Jeffrey

Jeffrey — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:44:31 +0000

This comment brings to light an often self-fulfilling factor in so-called “invasions”; the unwillingness or inability of humans to adapt to changes in ecosystem dynamics. Why on earth should a fisherman be so reliant on a single species when “there are many more fish in the sea”? The effects described are clear indications that the lake whitefish is being overfished, possibly due to “changes in the food web” that in turn were not met with changes in economic use. These changes also include improvements in water quality and increased invertebrate populations that have increased the catch of native smallmouth bass and yellow perch in recent years. Lake Michigan is not an aquaculture pond; it is a natural lake subjected to the chaos of nature and we must adapt to its changes as much as it adapts to those we have imposed.

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:12:15 +0000

Per Mark Sagoff’s comment “The zebra mussel has spread widely, but this suggests only that it found a niche to occupy, not that it “harmed” the environment in a scientifically definable and testable way”

My father is a commercial fisherman on Lake Michigan. He could certainly not tell you that Zebra Mussels have “harmed” the environment in a scientifically definable and testable way. He could however tell you that since Zebra Mussels entered Lake Michigan a shrimp like amphipod called diporeia has all but gone extinct. Now that the commercially important whitefish’s primary food source is gone, the fish are smaller and have a slower growth rate no doubt affecting the health of this fish species and the economy of commercial fishing. The Zebra Mussel has dramatically changed the food web in the Great Lakes impacting not only whitefish but many other fish species.

Sometimes philosophical scientific debate about whether something has quantifiably “harmed” the environment should take the back seat to qualitative observations from those in the field seeing real changes first hand “harmful” or not.