Invasive Issues

Invasive species are popping up all over North America, leaving lawmakers desperate to find solutions to this ever-increasing problem. In Eastern Canada the emerald ash border beetle, native to Asia, has been wreaking havoc on ash trees and the economy since the 1990’s. The beetle feeds on tree tissue and according to PR USA...

Invasive Species Handled, Naturally

Instead of using pesticides and herbicides that cause extensive environmental damage, conservationists are now using goats and sheep to clear away invasive pl...

Turtle Trouble

Trouble is brewing for turtle populations worldwide. A new report from The Turtle Conservation Coalition reveals that over 25 of the world’s known 32...

Eating Invasive Species

Florida fishing derbies have a new target – to catch the invasive lionfish which threaten the Keys’ ecosystem, reports the New York Times.  The lionfi...

Costly Invasive Species

Invasive (non native) species are an ecological and financial burden. According to a recent study by the international scientific organisation CABI, in...

Stink Bug Invades US

A little brown bug that smells like dirty socks or like a skunk’s spray is invading northeastern US homes and eating their way through millions of dollars worth of agricultural crops. Really, and it’s not just a Hallowe’en legend, according to Ez...

State of UK Birds

A coalition of UK conservation organizations has published a report on the successes and lack therein of the birds in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. In 1994, the UK government identified 26 species of bird most in need of conservation, and started on...

Great Lakes Dead Zone

Soon after scientists found that zooplankton in Lake Michigan were forming a seasonal bloom that gave small fish plenty to eat, the bloom started to be replaced with a dead zone devoid of oxygen. The culprit turned out to be the quagga mussel, an invasi...

European Alien Invasion

Recently, invasive species experts have insisted Europe-wide legislation be established to protect indigenous species from the invaders, reports the BBC.  Researchers advise installing legislation as soon as next year, to try to decrease the 12 billion e...

Seabird Conference

More than 800 participants including world experts on penguins, puffins and albatrosses will be meeting in Victoria, BC, from September 7 to 11th as part of the 1st World Seabird Conference, Bird Studies Canada told me yesterday.  Assembling to review ...

Conquering Invasive Species

Scientists are using some creative ways to get rid of invasive species that threaten other animals, plants, and even entire ecosystems, reports Scientific American. Hawaii has about 20 types of non-native algae, two of which are especially destructive, grow quickly, and destroy the coral and reef diversity.  When volunteers rem...

Eating An Invader: Lionfish

In the wild, lionfish are greedy predators that have invaded the Caribbean and eastern US seacoast.  They gobble up native fish and damage ecosystems, and can mean the end of local economies based on snorkeling and diving tourism dollars. But there’s...