Texas Standard. (2023, January 23) Texas Standard for Jan. 23, 2023: New invasive species 

sighted in Southeast Texas nature preserve. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/today-on-texas-standard-january-23-2023/ 

This article discussed an invasive deer species that has made its way into the Texas nature preserve. The deer species is the “axis deer”.”  This species is deemed to be very harmful because they “increase the risk of spreading chronic wasting disease, a deadly, highly transmissible neurologic disease that affects animals like deer, elk, and moose.”  They also eat the same food as the white tail deer, so they could be outcompeting them for a common resource. These deer are originally from India and Nepal and were bought and brought here by some Texas citizens. The deer managed to escape from their designated area and have made their way into the wild.  Texas made it legal for citizens to hunt as many as they wanted without having to pay or report.

This article is related to Environmental Science because it is about an invasive species posing a threat to a natural ecosystem.  This species will negatively affect the Texas wildlife preserve ecosystem because it will overcrowd the areas with its own species.  This will happen because it can eat the plants that the white tailed deer do not eat, so it could grow its numbers on that food source and once there are too many invasive deer eating their specific plant, they will shift over to the white tailed deer feed. This will lead to mass starvation and even extinction, starting a food web crisis..

Creative Loafing. (2023, January 23) Tampa Bay is now home to an invasive, air-breathing fish. 

Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://www.cltampa.com/news/tampa-bay-is-n ow-home-to-an-invasive-air-breathing-fish-14986316 

This article talks about a crazy new discovery in the waters of Tampa Bay.  They have found a fish that is able to potentially live outside of water.  This species is native to Thailand and made its way to the United States via bad trade practices. “By utilizing the ability to extract oxygen from both water and air, goldline snakeheads are able to survive out of water for almost four days.” These fish also have the ability to feed whilst on land.

This article is related to Environmental Science because it is about an invasive species posing a threat to a natural ecosystem.  These fish can travel between bodies of water by getting out of the body of water and flopping around to another.  They are able to live up to 4 days outside of water due to an evolutionary adaptation that they have made over the years.  This could be very detrimental to the native frog population because this fish can attack the frogs in the water and on land.  Also, the frogs can’t just run to another body of water because the fish can just follow them there on land.

News Break. (2023, January 28) Is This Invasive Flying Fish Going To Take Over The 

Tennessee River? Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://original.newsbreak.com/@april-killian-1599867/2906756829748-is-this-invasive-flying-fish-going-to-take-over-the-tennessee-river 

Right now in Tennessee, the rivers are being invaded by a silver asian carp.  This species of carp reproduces more than the other three species of asian carp, so it is going to be very hard to get rid of all of them. Also, this creature is a pro at destroying native habitat.  Boating in an area with this flying carp causes vibrations in the water that spook the fish and make them fly out of the water.  This is a problem because they can weigh up to 60 lbs and if a few of them hit you hard enough in the right places, it could knock you out or kill you.

This article is related to Environmental Science because it is about an invasive species posing a threat to human recreational activities.  Taking your family out to the river to go river rafting, or boating, or water skiing can now be deadly.  Humans are animals as well and our safety is being put at risk by this fish because it can jump up to 10 feet out of the water and hit us and cause serious damage.  This incident is terrifying parents near the areas of the rivers in Tennessee and may cause generation trauma in a way the movie “Jaws” did with the ocean.

Kaua’i Now. (2023, January 29). Stinging little fire ants grow their queendom on Kaua‘i to tipping

point levels. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://kauainownews.com/2023/01/29/st inging-little-fire-ants-grow-their-queendom-on-kauai-to-tipping-point-levels/ 

Recently in the Hawaii area there has been an outbreak of small red fire ants that have been taking over the landscape.  “They pack a mean punch” because when they bite or sting you, you will have burning and itching feelings that could last several weeks.  These mean little buggers can cause pain to livestock animals by stinging them near the eyes, making them go blind.  These ants now  have control of over 55 acres of land in the Hawaii area.  Getting rid of them will not be cheap, it will cost 1 or 2 million dollars. “In the Galapagos, the ants attack the eyes of adult tortoises and eat tortoise hatchlings.”

This article is related to Environmental Science because it is about an invasive species taking over natural habitat that they are not native to.  They cause damage to the native plants by protecting aphids from harm and they cause harm to the native animals by biting them near the eyes, causing blindness.  They have also invaded other areas like the Galapagos where they eat turtle eggs which decrease the future population of turtles, disrupting the entire ocean food web. 

Tylan, C., & Langkilde, T. (2023, January 16). Native eastern fence lizards change their bodies and behavior in response to invasive red imported fire ants. Phys.org. Retrieved January 17, 2023, from https://phys.org/news/2023-01-native-eastern-lizards-bodies-behavior.htm l#google_vignette

Eastern fence lizards are evolving to cope with the presence of invasive red imported fire ants, which are able to use their stings to kill these lizards. The lizards have evolved to this new threat in various different ways. Adult lizards retain the behavior of flicking the ants away. In addition, lizards in areas with the ants have been shown to have longer legs and a greater immunity to their venom, which might come from consuming them. However, it is not known how these changes might impact the lizards’ chances of survival in other ways.

This article is related to environmental science because it demonstrates how the eastern fence lizard is adapting to changes in its environment caused by the presence of an invasive species that poses a threat to its survival. I find it very impressive how quickly these lizards have evolved to survive the red imported red fire ants. I usually think of evolution as a process that takes thousands if not millions of years, but the eastern fence lizard shows how it can occur in a much shorter span of time. However, I am also worried about the ways that these adaptations could actually harm the lizard. For example, the article states that the lizards’ flicking of attacking ants disrupts their camouflage and makes them vulnerable to attacks from other predators. The authors also worry that the lizard becoming more resistant to the ants’ venom could mean that their immune system is less able to fight back against other threats, such as viruses. It just goes to show that just because some animals might be able to adapt to invasive species, it doesn’t mean that humans shouldn’t work to prevent their spread or mitigate their impacts.

Ricciardi, A. (2022, October 13). Ballast water management is reducing the flow of invasive species into the Great Lakes. Phys.org. Retrieved January 17, 2023, from https://phys. org/news/2022-10-ballast-invasive-species-great-lakes.html

Saltwater flushing, where ballast tanks are flushed with seawater to the point that the tanks are as salty as the ocean, has proven to be extremely effective in reducing the number of invasive species introduced into the Great Lakes. Previously, inbound ships were required to exchange their freshwater ballast with saltwater before entering the Great Lakes. However, this was not required for ships with no pumpable ballast, and the residual water in these ships led to the continued spread of invasive species before saltwater flushing was mandated by Canada and the United States of America in 2006 and 2008, respectively.

This article is related to environmental science because the invasive species mentioned in this article, including the bighead carp, black carp, fish-hook waterflea, grass carp, Ponto-Caspian amphipod, silver carp, tench, and zebra mussel are harming the ecosystems of the Great Lakes by overconsuming nutrients that native species need to survive and rapidly increasing their populations. Saltwater flushing greatly reduces the number of invasive species introduced to the Great Lakes via ballast water, reducing the amount the ecosystems will be further negatively affected by them. I’m happy that saltwater flushing is proving to be so useful in decreasing the further introduction of invasive species to the Great Lakes. I’m also relieved that the Canadian and American governments are taking the threat of invasive species in the Great Lakes seriously enough that they are mandating saltwater flushing before ships enter there. Saltwater flushing seems to be so effective that I am wondering if we could use it to reduce the number of invasive species being introduced to other freshwater systems in other places. However, I hope that the governments and people of the U.S. and Canada continue to fight back against the invasive species already in the Great Lakes and prevent their further spread in addition to attempting to prevent further introduction of invasive species into the lakes. It is important that we work on both prevention and mitigation.

Public advisory: WSDA says check your trees, wreathes for invasive species. (2022, December 19) KXRO News Radio. Retrieved January 17, 2023, from https://www.kx ro.com/public-advisory-wsda-says-check-your-trees-wreathes-for-invasive-species/

The Washington State Department of Agriculture (i.e., WSDA) is asking Washington residents to check their trees, wreathes, and other holiday plants for elongate hemlock scale (i.e., EHS). EHS is an invasive insect species that feeds on cedar, fir, hemlock, pine, spruce, and yew. People are advised to buy locally grown trees and cut greens. Any plants suspected to be contaminated by EHS should be photographed, and one should email the images and where the plant was purchased to PestProgram@agr.wa.gov. The plants should then be cut up, double-bagged, and thrown in the trash.

This article relates to environmental science because EHS is an invasive species that, if not controlled, will reproduce quickly and harm many cedar, fir, hemlock, pine, spruce, and yew by overfeeding on them. This would cause damage to the local ecosystems as these plants are producers, and this article tells people how to mitigate the negative impacts of this invasive species and prevent its spread. Once again, I am glad that state governments are taking action against the spread of invasive species, but since EHS is a small insect that, if not in large quantities, might be very hard to spot, I don’t think everyone will dispose of their infested holiday plants. However, I do think that this warning will slow, if not completely stop, the spread of EHS in Washington. It’s also good that the actions that must be taken to dispose of infested plants are relatively simple, meaning that more people are likely to follow them. Plus, people will most likely check their plants after seeing this warning because even if they don’t care that EHS is an invasive species, they probably don’t want insects in their homes.

McLeod, C. (2022, December 20). Forest health workshop educates landowners, timber professionals on invasive species. Upper Michigans Source.com. Retrieved January 17, 2023, from https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2022/12/20/forest-health-workshop-e ducates-landowners-timber-professionals-invasive-species/

In Iron Mountain, Michigan 45 landowners and timber professionals gathered at a workshop hosted by the Wild Rivers Invasive Species Coalition (i.e., WRISC). There, they learned about the health of upper Michigan’s forests, including hearing speakers talk about invasive species and what programs are available to them to help combat their effects. Some invasive species mentioned at the workshop were common buckthorn, the emerald ash borer, and oak wilt. Lindsay Peterson, a WRISC coordinator, stated that there was a “high turnout” to the event, which hopefully “means that people care about these issues.”

This article relates to environmental science because it describes three invasive species that are present in upper Michigan. These are common buckthorn, the emerald ash borer, and oak wilt. The emerald ash borer is a beetle native to Asia that feeds on ash trees, and oak wilt is a fungal disease native to the midwestern United States. Because all three of these invasive species are not in their native environment when they are in upper Michigan forests, they are able to reproduce and spread rapidly, consuming resources used by native organisms, which leads to a decline in the populations of local organisms, disrupting upper Michigan’s various forest ecosystems. I am really glad that people are taking the threat of invasive species seriously. It isn’t that much of a surprise to me that people are, as the danger nonnative species pose is not really a hot button topic like climate change, but it is still good to know that people are taking it seriously. If people are voluntarily showing up to this workshop, it means that they must care about this issue, which means that they will likely follow the recommendations presented to them there about how to reduce the negative impacts of these invasive species. Therefore, I am hopeful that, with the right programs and plans, landowners and timber professionals will be able to get common buckthorn, the emerald ash borer, and oak wilt under better control in upper Michigan’s forests.

Flowers, T. (2022, October 27). Invasive zebra mussels have “infested” a Colorado lake for the first time, raising fears they could spread. The Colorado Sun. Retrieved January 17, 2023, from https://coloradosun.com/2022/10/27/zebra-mussels-highline-lake-colorado/

Despite the efforts of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, invasive zebra mussels have officially “infested” Highline Lake. The first adult mussel was found in the lake on September 14, 2022, and almost 12 more were found there on October 21 and 23. Zebra mussels are able to rapidly reproduce and spread, and their presence in Highline Lake could disrupt the local ecosystem and lead to economic damage. Colorado officials are hoping that a more rigorous inspection and cleaning of boats entering or leaving the lake will prevent the spread of the zebra mussels to other bodies of water.

This article is related to environmental science because zebra mussels consume nutrients needed by other fish and plants in the ecosystem. In addition, the mussels’ high levels of filter feeding can alter food sources in lakes and reservoirs. Both of these consequences negatively affect the ecosystem, resulting in more local creatures dying than normal, and people must work to mitigate the effects of this invasive species and prevent them from spreading to other bodies of water. I am not entirely surprised that zebra mussels have continued to spread across the United States, as they can live for up to 27 days outside of water under the right conditions, and one mussel can produce up to 1 million babies in a year, so they seem to be able to spread very quickly and easily if the right precautions are not taken. I’m glad that Colorado authorities are taking the threat of zebra mussels so seriously, but in my opinion, I think the species will continue to slowly spread across the state, as it seems to just take one person who doesn’t inspect and clean their boat properly to spread them to another body of water, and while the efforts that authorities are making to prevent their spread is impressive, I find it hard to believe that they will be able to catch everyone whose boats contain zebra mussels, but hopefully, I will be proven wrong in the future.