Feral Cats
The FWC estimates there are between 6.3 and 9.6 million feral cats Felis catus in Florida at http www.floridaconservation.org , which, conservatively, kill millions of small animals in Florida each year FCIT 2003 . Feral cats are generally harmful to native fauna throughout the state, because even cats well-maintained as pets take a high toll of nearby small animals Churcher and Lawton 1987, Lepcyzk et al. 2003, Woods et al. 2003 , especially considering cats continue to hunt and kill when not...
Plant Community Resistance
The spread of invasive plant species across wildlands is dependent not only on the spatial dispersal of its propagules, but also whether or not these propagules can become established in existing plant communities. Discussions of prevention or any other approaches to invasive plant management are of little consequence if the invasive plant species is dispersing to an environment unsuitable for its survival. Thus, the present discussion focuses on environments that the invasive plant species can...
Introduction Sga
For the past 50 years, relatively inexpensive nitrogen fertilizer has been the primary determinant of forage productivity in the southeastern U.S. As was the case prior to this period, the recent dramatic increases in price of inorganic nitrogen could now be changing the status of pasture legumes from simply desirable to essential for economic levels of productivity. Temperate cool season legume species such as clovers Trifolium species and alfalfa Medicago sativa are useful forage plants and...
References
Burch, P.L. amp S.M. Zedaker. Removing the invasive tree Ailanthus altissima and restoring natural cover. Journal of Arboriculture 29 18-23. Carter, W.K. amp T.S. Fredericksen. 2007. Tree seedling and sapling density and deer browsing incidence on recently-logged and mature non-industrial private forestlands in Virginia, USA. Forest Ecology and Management. 242 671-677. Grime, J.P. 1965. Shade tolerance in flowering plants. Nature 208 161-163. Heisey, R.M. 1990. Evidence for allelopathy by...
Prevention Removal Treatments and Mitigation Efforts
A variety of mitigation techniques are available to help control invasive ascidians. Preventative measures that keep surfaces free of ascidians e.g., antifouling paints, air drying, mechanical scraping, etc may be most useful because they limit the spread of ascidians. Once invasive ascidians become established in a new location they can be almost impossible to eradicate. Various physical and chemical treatments are used to remove ascidians from substrates, but most fouling control methods are...
The Ecological Superiority for Successful Invasion
The ability of this species to trap large volumes of tidal sediments led to its deliberate introduction in several parts of the world North Europe, Australia, New Zealand, China in conjunction with land reclamation. However, the rapid expansion of the invasive species is now considered to be a threat to coastal environments Daehler amp Strong, 1996 Ayres et al., 2004 Chen et al., 2004 . S. alterniflora have become model organisms for studying biological invasions from both ecological and...
References Bam
Addlestone, B. J., Mueller, J. P., amp Luginbuhl, J. M. 1999 The establishment and early growth of three leguminous tree species for use in silvopastoral systems of the southeastern USA. Agroforestry Systems, 44, 253-265. Altom, J. V., Stritzke, J. F., amp Weeks, D. L. 1992 Sericea lespedeza Lespedeza cuneata control with selected postemergence herbicides. Weed Technology, 6, 573-576. Baldridge, J. D. 1957 The lespedezas II. culture and utilization. Advances in Agronomy, 9, 122-141. Ball, D....
References Yqa
Anderson, M.C., Martin, B.J. amp Roemer, G.W. 2004 . Use of matrix population models to estimate the efficacy of euthanasia versus trap-neuter-return for management of free-roaming cats. Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association, 225, 1871-1876. Avery, M.L. amp Moulton, M.P. 2007 . Florida's non-native avifauna. In G. Witmer, W. Pitt amp K. Fagerstone. eds. Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species Proceedings of an International Symposium. Pp 365-377. Fort Collins, CO, USDA APHIS WS,...
Purple Swamphen
Relatively few non-native bird species have become established in Florida Hardin 2007 , as only about 5 of the roughly 200 non-native species introduced have succeeded at becoming established Avery 2007 . The purple swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio , a recent introduction to Florida, was judged to merit eradication by a consensus of land management agencies based on its increasing population and range expansion, its potential impact to native species, and the potential for an eradication effort to...
Nile Monitor Lizards
Many exotic arrivals to Florida do not appear in the public conscientiousness. For example, the mainstream public is typically unaware that the number of non-native lizard species breeding in Florida now exceeds the number of native species, with over three times as many exotic species as native in south Florida Hardin 2007 , and many of the exotic lizard species can eat various life stages of other lizards Meshaka et al. 2004 . Nonetheless, problems with several large lizard species recently...
Amphisorus hemprichii Ehrenberg
The genus Amphisorus belongs to a family of calcareous larger foraminifera, Soritidae Ehrenberg 1839 , whose members are common in shallow tropical and subtropical waters. Fossil samples of Amphisorus hemprichii Ehrenberg were found in Creteceous rocks Ehrenberg. 1839 and 1840 . Today, it shows a wide range of distribution in the Indo-Pacific and abundantly found in the Gulf of Aqabe to the north of the Red Sea Reiss and Hottinger, 1984 Haunold et al., 1998 . The benthic foraminifer A....
Northern Curlytail Lizards
The northern curlytail lizard Leiocephalus carinatus armouri is endemic to the islands of the Little Bahama Bank, with other subspecies found in the Great Bahama Bank, Cayman Islands, and Cuba Schwartz and Thomas 1975, Schwartz and Henderson 1991 . A small colony established in Palm Beach County through the intentional release of 20 pairs in the 1940s has spread widely Duellman and Schwartz 1958 . Prior to 1968, the range for this population had been expanding north and south along the Atlantic...
Gambian Giant Pouched Rats
The Gambian giant pouched rat Cricetomys gambianus in the Florida Keys is an example of how a severe invasive species threat can be managed in a logical, practical and efficient manner, once a threat has been identified. This largest of rat species up to 2.8 kg Rosevear 1969 is highly prolific and holds potential for extreme ecological and agricultural negative impacts Perry et al. 2006, Engeman et al. 2006 . Although the species escaped from a captive breeder on Grassy Key around 1999, it was...
References Vhh
Abdul, J. A. H., amp Sivakumar, V. 2007 . Occurrence and distribution of ascidians in Vizhinjam Bay southwest coast of India . Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 342, 189-190. ACRDP 2003 . Atlantic Canadian tunicate workshop proceedings final report. Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program, Report no. MG-02-11-003. Agius, B. P. 2007 . Spatial and temporal effects of pre-seeding plates with invasive ascidians growth, recruitment and community composition....
Conclusion Wdv
There is still considerable room for improving current baiting practices. By applying the findings of chemoreception research, the effectiveness of conventional fish baits could be almost doubled with the simple addition of small sections of sugarcane. The selectivity potential of the bait was also demonstrated by adding sugar to the fish mince teabags, which maintained the catches of P. pelagicus but reduced those of other crab species. In the future, determining the taste preferences of the...
Mechanisms of Invasive Plant Impact on Soil Properties
The mechanisms implied in these soil properties modifications are probably diverse and are not completely understood. However, our data allow us to formulate some hypotheses. The biomass production of all studied plants was always higher than that of the resident vegetation Dassonville et al., 2008 . Higher biomass was achieved either by larger shoots and faster growth rate F. japonica, I. glandulifera, S. gigantea or by increased ground cover compared to the resident vegetation S. inaequidens...
Feral Swine
Who let the hogs out In Florida, it originally was the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto about a half millennium ago in 1539 who introduced feral swine Sus scrofa to Florida Towne and Wentworth 1950 , and many additional introductions have followed since. This species has the greatest reproductive potential of all free-ranging large mammals in the United States Wood and Barrett 1979 Hellgren 1999 , which combined with a general absence of large predators over much of their range results in...
Ciona Intestinalis Mussel
Ascidians can grow in a variety of forms ranging from purely solitary individuals to true colonies Ruppert amp Barnes 1996 . All types of ascidians may be invasive, but the characteristics of their invasions differ. Invasive solitary species grow in dense monospecific aggregations e.g., Bourque et al. 2003, Blum et al. 2007, LeBlanc et al. 2007, Figures 1, 2 amp 3 . Because each individual holds a significant amount of water inside its body, stands of solitary individuals can possess tremendous...
Solidago Gigantea
As reported in Dassonville et al. 2008 , the main impact of Solidago gigantea was on soil P. In most studied sites, P availability increased consecutively to invasion. Nutrient uplift is not the mechanism responsible for this increased as the rooting depth is comparable in both invasive and resident vegetation Herr et al., 2007 . In order to understand the mechanisms affecting P availability, we examined seasonal variation of labile inorganic and organic P fractions, microbial P, and...
Introduction 1
Invasive exotic species are causing dramatic changes in many ecological systems worldwide and there is no question that invasive species are profoundly altering many communities and ecosystems, forming the second leading cause after habitat destruction of species endangerment and extinction Simberloff 2001 Gurevitch amp Padilla 2004 . Invasive alien species are among the major drivers of biological change in most terrestrial ecosystems Williamson 1996 Simberloff 2001 Gurevitch amp Padilla 2004...
Burmese Pythons
The Burmese python Python molurus bivittatus is another large exotic carnivore entrenched in Florida Meshaka et al. 2000 . The pathway to invasion for this species has been largely attributed to illegal pet releases e.g., Snow et al. 2006 . However, the highly destructive impacts from Hurricane Andrew in 1992 included the release of many animals from captive breeding and holding facilities. Recent genetic results showing little differentiation among pythons captured in south Florida are...
The Invasibility of Native Ecosystem as a Necessary Condition of Spartina
Before the invasion of Spartina, there are few plant species distributed in the tidal zone for the severely physical condition. Thus, S. alterniflora, as a pioneer species of community succession, occupies an empty niche at the early stage of invasion Chung et al., 2004 . After successful establishment, the populations have a chance to rapid expansion. Such as in China, all of 90 foreshore of Jiangsu Province is silty, and the total area is 6,533 km2. Previous of Spartina introduced, plants...
Kudzu Defoliation
Although there is no controversy regarding the invasiveness of kudzu, recognition of the forage value of this species is still important. With the increasing cost of available approaches of kudzu control and the tremendous resilience of established populations, generating some returns from grazing at appropriate seasons and extents to deplete root reserves may allow greater progress in control of a continuing invasion. Currently available approaches to control, and eventually eradicate, this...
Vectors of Ascidian Introductions
Numerous vectors facilitate the introduction, movement and spread of invasive ascidians. Due to the short-lived nature of ascidian larvae, most introductions likely occur when viable juveniles, adults or colony fragments are transported to new habitats. The most commonly cited transport mechanisms include shipping vectors i.e., hull fouling and ballast water and the movement of ascidians with aquaculture organisms and equipment a more recently identified transport vector is the movement of...
the Lizard
The black spiny-tailed iguana Ctenosaura similis on Gasparilla Island is an example of an exotic lizard species Meshaka et al. 2004 where control was initiated at the behest of affected residents. Also known as ctenosaurs, these large lizards became established on this 11 km-long barrier island along Florida's west coast with an introduction of as few as three individuals around 30 - 35 years ago Krysko et al. 2003 . Since then, the ctenosaur population has saturated the terrestrial habitats on...
References Shu
Allison, S.D. amp Vitousek, P.M. 2004 . Rapid nutrient cycling in leaf litter from invasive plants in Hawai'i. Oecologia, 141, 612-619. Alvarez, M.E. amp Cushman, J.H. 2002 . Community-level consequences of a plant invasion effects on three habitats in coastal California. Ecological Applications, 12, 1434-1444. Ashton, I.W. Hyatt, L.A. Howe, K.M. Gurevitch, J. amp Lerdau, M.T. 2005 . Invasive species accelerate decomposition and litter nitrogen loss in a mixed deciduous forest. Ecological...
Luring the Crab to the Trap
Many fishers use fish of no commercial value or trash fish as bait, but animal byproducts such as viscera, skin or heads, salted or dried fish, smoked cormorant, frogs, chicken offal and many other things can be used as well. Commercial trap fishers usually prefer to use frozen fish bait, like mackerel or sardine, because from past experience they know that to have a good catch they need high quality bait. Some studies have examined the active ingredients found in bait that are responsible for...
References Xbp
Ache, B.W. Chemoreception and thermoreception. In Atwood, H.L. amp Sandeman, D.C. The biology of crustacea vol 3 . New York Academic Press 1982 369-398. Archdale, M.V. amp Nakamura, K. 1992 . Responses of the swimming crab Portunus pelagicus to amino acids and mono- disaccharides. Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi, 58, 165. Anraku, K., Vazquez Archdale, M., Mendez Cortes, B. amp Espinosa R.A. 2001 . Crab trap fisheries capture process and an attempt on bait improvement. University of the Philippines in...
Limiting Spatial Dispersal
Invasive plant propagules most often seeds create new infestations by being spatially dispersed to new areas. Limiting the spatial dispersal of invasive plants can greatly improve prevention success Davies and Sheley 2007a . If invasive plants do not have propagules present at a site or are unable to disperse propagules to the site, invasion will not occur. Furthermore, the likelihood of invasion is significantly less with decreasing propagule pressure D'Antonio et al. 2001 Davies 2008 Davies...
Sericea Lespedeza
Sericea lespedeza presents quite a paradox. It has long been, and continues to be, acclaimed as a highly valuable erosion control and reclamation plant. It has recently become widely recognized as an invasive weedy species, while also being considered an underutilized forage plant. In contrast to kudzu, seed of sericea lespedeza continues to be commercially marketed and rather widely recommended for continued planting in the southeastern U.S. Agronomically, sericea lespedeza is recognized as...
Alien Foraminifera in the Mediterranean
Invasion of the Mediterranean Sea by alien species is getting increasingly prominent every day. These alien species are probably transported in with ballast waters or by attaching themselves onto vessels. Furthermore, many species have been brought into the Mediterranean for aquaculture purposes or inadvertantly introduced from public aquariums. But, most of the alien taxa recorded in the Mediterranean are originated from Indo-Pacific, indicating that the Suez Canal is considered to be the...
Amphistegina lobifera Larsen
The most abundant of the alien foraminifer species in the Mediterranean Sea is Amphistegina lobifera Larsen. It shows a wide distribution range in the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Oceans Langer and Hottinger, 2000 , also abundantly recorded in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin, Israel Langer and Hottinger, 2000 Hyams et al., 2002 , Lebanon Moncharmont Zei, 1968 Greece Cherif, 1970 Hollaus and Hottinger, 1997 and Turkey Avsar, 1997 Meric et al., 2002, 2004a . In Israel, Amphistegina lobifera is the...
Conclusion
Majority of the alien foraminifer species observed on the southwestern coast of Turkey are Indo-Pacific originated and suggested to be introduced from Red Sea. The most abundant species is Amphistegina lobifera Larsen. Other than Amphistegina, some other large Indo-Pacific foraminifer species, such as Amphisorus hemprichii Ehrenberg, Sorites orbiculus Ehrenberg and Heterostegina depressa d'Orbigny were found in this area. Peneroplis arietinus Batsch was abundantly observed in only this region...
The invasive patterns of Spartina Alterniflora
All of invasive species are introduced by chance or deliberately into a region or country by human being. However, the fates of invasive species vary with different invasive pattern and passages. In the last two hundred years, S. alterniflora was introduced many countries in the world, and its distribution has expanded from Atlantic coast of America to Europe, western coast of North America, New Zealand and coast of China Baumel et al., 2001 . In England, S. alterniflora was introduced by...