Alternate invasive species
- Thread starter BlackWave
- Start date
Wierd, I was thinking of the same Idea a couple days ago.
I was wondering how Michigan would react if Asian Carp were introduced directly into The Great Lakes, while Zebra Mussels went through the Mississippi River.
I think for the Human introduced species: It all depends on how it is spread: By accident, or by an indiviual's intention.
Zebra Mussels were introduced by ship ballast and the chances of it spreading to American waters are pretty likely (Unless foreign trade completely ceased).
Snakeheads, Water Hyacinthes, and Cane Toads were introduced by individuals, for different reasons: Snakeheads were used as food by Souteast Asian Immigrants near Maryland; The Hyacinthes because they were beautify plants; Cane Toads to control some sort of pest (whose name escapes me)
let me think.
Here in Hawaii, Mongeese were brought over to kill rats.
that didn't work for rather Obvious reasons.
If...say Owls or something were brought instead, the Native Honey Creeper and Pu'eo/Hawaiian Owl Populations would be decimated, while the Nene Goose might be some what better off.
Here in Hawaii, Mongeese were brought over to kill rats.
that didn't work for rather Obvious reasons.
If...say Owls or something were brought instead, the Native Honey Creeper and Pu'eo/Hawaiian Owl Populations would be decimated, while the Nene Goose might be some what better off.
I'd imagine Caracals could dispatch rats fairly efficiently, and can apparently be tamed. They have a somewhat comparable size/weight relationship to rats as domestic cats do with mice.
Not that any of this would protect bird eggs.
Not that any of this would protect bird eggs.
I think OTL has about the worst invasive species configuration there is. Lots of species have been imported everywhere, and the strongest have survived.
Gambusia, (aka the mosquitofish) the killer guppy of the southern US has been exported around the world where it has driven native frogs and toads to extinction. Local amphibians get around Gambusia by being highly toxic, breeding in puddles and knotholes, or by mass synchronized spawnings so the killer guppies can't eat them all. Gambusia have pushed rainbowfish to near extinction in Australia and Indonesia by eating their eggs.
KUdzu, a Chinese vine plagues the US South.
The Fire Ant, S. invicta, came to Mobile in a shipment of palm trees from Brazil. Spraying insecticides to control them only made them spread faster. Fireflies became extinct on the Gulf Coast. Junebugs became less numerous. Fire ants can kill and eat a calf. Things are more in balance now, but fireflies will never come back.
So many species have been introduced in OTL and the strongest and luckiest have flourished. I cannot see how any ATL could be worse.
Gambusia, (aka the mosquitofish) the killer guppy of the southern US has been exported around the world where it has driven native frogs and toads to extinction. Local amphibians get around Gambusia by being highly toxic, breeding in puddles and knotholes, or by mass synchronized spawnings so the killer guppies can't eat them all. Gambusia have pushed rainbowfish to near extinction in Australia and Indonesia by eating their eggs.
KUdzu, a Chinese vine plagues the US South.
The Fire Ant, S. invicta, came to Mobile in a shipment of palm trees from Brazil. Spraying insecticides to control them only made them spread faster. Fireflies became extinct on the Gulf Coast. Junebugs became less numerous. Fire ants can kill and eat a calf. Things are more in balance now, but fireflies will never come back.
So many species have been introduced in OTL and the strongest and luckiest have flourished. I cannot see how any ATL could be worse.
Koalas, introduced to Europe to control the previously introduced eucalyptus tree. Spain, Italy, and Greece are overrun by tens of thousands of beady-eyed, double-thumbed marsupial terrors. Eventually native squirrels and, later, chipmunks in America, are replaced. Three hundred years later, every Christmas we have to listen to the non-stop whining of Alvin and the Koalas about how he wants a hula-hoop.
Protecting the eggs are the Important part.
although would the Caracal thrive here?
it seems to be more of a desert cat.
Polar bears in Antarctica. Goodbye penguins.
The recently extinct Chinese river dolphin gets moved to the Mississippi by some rich dolphin lover.
Komodo dragons transported to the Everglades.
Canadian beavers in the Black Forest (Canadian beavers are very destructive compared to other types.)
The recently extinct Chinese river dolphin gets moved to the Mississippi by some rich dolphin lover.
Komodo dragons transported to the Everglades.
Canadian beavers in the Black Forest (Canadian beavers are very destructive compared to other types.)
Nile Perch would have a pretty devastating impact if they got into any of the major US rivers. The most likely way of that happening were if some were imported for food and were released.
Also the Candiru. Not because they'd have a great impact on ecosystems, but because they're bloody horrible.
Also the Candiru. Not because they'd have a great impact on ecosystems, but because they're bloody horrible.
Not sure if the Yangtze dolphin or Komodo dragon would breed enough to qualify as invasive though. Species that went extinct or are endangered probably wouldn't over populate themselves outside their native habitats.
Funny, I completed a paper on invasive mammals in the Mediterranean last night and was pondering exactly what species could have been the most likely invaders in the pre-Columbian Caribbean if sailing had developed there as soon as in the Mediterranean (of course, this is pre-1900, but then invasive species are as old as agriculture and maritime trade).
The most obvious candidates would be some rodents, either deliberately introduced for food (guinea pigs) or as stowaways in grain cargo, and then some carnivores. Raccoons and coatis are already invasive species in Europe IOTL because of the exotic pet trade - if they had been carried to the Antilles as fur providers or rat catchers like cats and mustelids were in the Med they could have been devastating. White-tailed deer and peccaries could also have been introduced for hunting purposes.
The most obvious candidates would be some rodents, either deliberately introduced for food (guinea pigs) or as stowaways in grain cargo, and then some carnivores. Raccoons and coatis are already invasive species in Europe IOTL because of the exotic pet trade - if they had been carried to the Antilles as fur providers or rat catchers like cats and mustelids were in the Med they could have been devastating. White-tailed deer and peccaries could also have been introduced for hunting purposes.
I'd never go near a lake again. Sales of recreational watercraft in the US south would plummet. Be afraid, be very afraid.
How about these?
A wealthy Italian businessman imports snow leopards to Alpine Italy. They become established and prey on the last remaining ibex herds. They soon learn that sheep and calves are better prey, and those two legged critters don't put up much a fight if you catch them totally unaware. Snow leopards spread across the Alps and down the Rhine into Germany and France.
In the 1920s some guy in Argentina gets the bright idea to farm American alligators for their hides. Economic depression in the 30s causes him to abandon the farm. By 1965 they are found in the Amazon basin and are displacing the caiman.
This one sounds interesting. What sort of date would you reckon would be appropriate for this, or else would be the most interesting?
NothingNow
Banned
Some fun ideas:
1)Eugene Schieffelin never gets the insane idea to release every bird in Shakespeare's plays in Central Park. So, no European Starlings in North America, but, he's already released house finches, and a number of other birds that just ended up dead on the sidewalk come October. Instead, Monk Parrots, Finches, and Budgerigars (Some other Romantic idiot decides to release a few hundred in NYC as others escape and develop breeding populations in the US starting in the 1920's) become some of the most problematic, yet useful Invasive birds, kinda like OTL, although Monk parrots are more encouraged. Avian Biodiversity is up massively over OTL.
2)Arachis glabrata (Aka Peanut Grass, or Perenial Peanut) becomes a common type of ground cover. Of course, this has it's drawbacks, as it's fairly hard to kill without modern pesticides, and within the right climactic conditions, quite a potent weed, like Bamboo, or Dandelions.
3) Someone decides to set up a Feather industry on the Iberian Peninsula, and starts raising Carolina Parakeets, Peafowl, and other valuable sorts of Birds, before going bankrupt, and letting the birds escape, just as Cockleburs start popping up as weeds in Europe (Carolina Parakeets were a useful biological control for those, and weren't all that destructive otherwise.) It turns out that intensive farming did a couple of things to the Parakeets, and rendered them fairly resistant to Poultry Diseases (That which most likely finally wiped them out IOTL.)
4) Some idiot (probably an Ex-Confederate) releases a couple dozen breeding pairs of Ivory Billed Woodpeckers in California, Tasmania and New Zealand in the 1870's. They get themselves established. Hilarious Irony Ensues.
Does anyone else have Kim Todd's Tinkering With Eden? It's a good overview of some of the odder stories behind Some of the Invasive species in the US and the Characters who introduced them (Like Eugene Schieffelin, and Captain Tooey,) also her What if on Kangaroos is pretty good.
1)Eugene Schieffelin never gets the insane idea to release every bird in Shakespeare's plays in Central Park. So, no European Starlings in North America, but, he's already released house finches, and a number of other birds that just ended up dead on the sidewalk come October. Instead, Monk Parrots, Finches, and Budgerigars (Some other Romantic idiot decides to release a few hundred in NYC as others escape and develop breeding populations in the US starting in the 1920's) become some of the most problematic, yet useful Invasive birds, kinda like OTL, although Monk parrots are more encouraged. Avian Biodiversity is up massively over OTL.
2)Arachis glabrata (Aka Peanut Grass, or Perenial Peanut) becomes a common type of ground cover. Of course, this has it's drawbacks, as it's fairly hard to kill without modern pesticides, and within the right climactic conditions, quite a potent weed, like Bamboo, or Dandelions.
3) Someone decides to set up a Feather industry on the Iberian Peninsula, and starts raising Carolina Parakeets, Peafowl, and other valuable sorts of Birds, before going bankrupt, and letting the birds escape, just as Cockleburs start popping up as weeds in Europe (Carolina Parakeets were a useful biological control for those, and weren't all that destructive otherwise.) It turns out that intensive farming did a couple of things to the Parakeets, and rendered them fairly resistant to Poultry Diseases (That which most likely finally wiped them out IOTL.)
4) Some idiot (probably an Ex-Confederate) releases a couple dozen breeding pairs of Ivory Billed Woodpeckers in California, Tasmania and New Zealand in the 1870's. They get themselves established. Hilarious Irony Ensues.
Does anyone else have Kim Todd's Tinkering With Eden? It's a good overview of some of the odder stories behind Some of the Invasive species in the US and the Characters who introduced them (Like Eugene Schieffelin, and Captain Tooey,) also her What if on Kangaroos is pretty good.
NothingNow
Banned
Probably the 1880s up to the 1920s. That's when the tech was there, the money was there, and the Science and common sense weren't. That 50-year window is when people really did release some of the really annoying invasives, and tended to throw what ever they though might stick at an environment.
Also, I read somewhere that Nile Crocodile would fit nicely into the Great Plains / Southwest Desert ecosystems, especially in the warmer areas. The only problem was that by the time someone might have moved them to North America, the great herds of bison which they would have fed upon would mostly be gone.
NothingNow
Banned
Kudzu is native to Japan and parts of East Asia. Coatis would be interesting, but Africa and Asia do have Predators used to things like them, even if they are a rather problematic animal to catch.