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INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT
In 1890, one man released 60 birds in New York Central park. 135 years later, there are 200 million of them across AmericaHow 60 birds became 200 million starlings: European starlings, numbering 200 million, trace their lineage to a 1890 Manhattan release. Euge...
Texas released 3 million captive-bred eggs to save this endangered amphibian. It may be workingA male Houston toad was sighted in Bastrop County, Texas, after a 50-year absence. This sighting follows the release of millions of captive...
Australia built an A$187,000 electric fence across wild horse country; inside lies an endangered alpine wetland supporting three threatened animalsAn electric fence protects a rare alpine wetland in Australia's Kosciuszko National Park. This small area is home to three threatened nativ...
In 1861, an English lord sent three red deer to New Zealand for sport; the animals multiplied until government hunters were killing 50,000 a yearThree deer introduced in 1861 multiplied into a national crisis. New Zealand's government hired men to kill 50,000 deer annually. These cul...
In 2001, a USDA scientist released beetles to destroy an invasive tree, but they eliminated 94% of an endangered bird's habitat along one riverAn invasive beetle introduced to control tamarisk trees has devastated flycatcher nesting grounds. This beetle, released by the USDA, succe...
In the 1770s, Captain Cook released pigs and goats in New Zealand to feed future sailors; their feral descendants began destroying native bushCaptain Cook introduced pigs and goats to New Zealand's Ship Cove in 1770 for future sailors. These animals became significant threats to n...
In 1778, Captain James Cook’s crew released goats in Hawaii as a future food source; their descendants damaged native plants and worsened erosionCaptain Cook introduced goats to Hawaii in 1778, which then proliferated rapidly. These animals severely damaged native plants and altered ...
In 1962, a conservationist moved to a near-barren Bermuda island without electricity or a phone; 47 years later, its first cahow chick in 300 years fledgedA young conservationist moved to Nonsuch Island in 1962 to restore its lost forest. David Wingate planted over 10,000 native seedlings to r...
How Australia’s Brown Tree snakes reached Guam after World War II and left biologists baffled by the invasionBrown tree snakes, an invasive species on Guam, have baffled biologists for years. Their population is believed to have started with only a...
From a 1937 garden planting to an ecological crisis: One Miconia tree now spreads 8.9 million seeds, endangering Queensland's iconic rainforestsToday, a single mature Miconia tree can produce over 8.9 million seeds in one season. What began as a 1937 garden introduction in tahiti ha...
A juice company dumped 1,000 truckloads of orange peel on dead Costa Rican pastures in 1997; 16 years later, the plot had 176% more biomass than the land beside itA Costa Rican juice company's waste helped restore a degraded pasture. Discarded orange peels and pulp enriched the soil, fostering new gro...
Brazilian scientist who defied a dictatorship bought 63 African queen bees in 1956; a year later, 26 escaped and became one of America's most notorious invasive insectsTwenty-six African queen honey bees escaped a Brazilian apiary in 1957, beginning a continental spread. These bees, known as Africanized ho...
Since 1969, Florida has battled the giant African land snail, smuggled in as exotic pets; the fist-sized invader eats 500 plant species and even the plaster off housesGiant African land snails, introduced as pets, caused a major Florida crisis. These hermaphroditic snails reproduce prolifically, laying hu...
In 2010, Australian scientists fed native predators toad sausages spiked with a nausea drug so they would learn to avoid deadly cane toads: a trick now used to train quolls before toads arriveBaby quolls learned to avoid toxic cane toads after experiencing nausea from a special snack. This conservation method helps protect the en...
Snake eggs in your garden? Don't move them until you know these thingsFinding snake eggs in your garden requires careful consideration before any action. Moving reptile eggs can pose risks to developing embryo...
A $7 billion seafood species has become an invasive resident on the US East Coast - here's why scientists are concernedManila clams, a valuable seafood species, have established a breeding population in Boston Harbor. This marks the first known successful es...
Quote of the day by Harrison Ford, 'Nature Doesn't Need People – People Need Nature; Nature Would Survive the Extinction of the Human Being and Go on Just Fine, but Human Culture, Human Beings, Cannot Survive Without Nature', shows nature's influence on human health, happiness and human civilization's dependence on natureQuote of the day by Harrison Ford expresses a profound truth about humanity's place in the world. Nature has sustained life for millions of...
Not Shark or Seal: Penguin's biggest predator on this island is a 20-gram animal and South Africa is now planning a 550-tonne poison solutionSouth Africa is preparing a large-scale operation to eliminate mice on Marion Island. Helicopters will drop 550 tons of poison bait across ...
South Africa, in the mid-1800s, planted millions of Australian acacias as a dune fix; 180 years later, that decision is costing the country its rivers and ecosystemA 19th-century solution to coastal erosion in South Africa, planting Australian Acacia trees, has become a major environmental crisis. Thes...
Hawaii, in the late 1800s, planted Leucaena trees for fodder and fuelwood, but scientists now say the invasive trees have replaced native habitats that evolved nowhere else on EarthHawaii's idyllic image belies a significant ecological challenge: Leucaena, an introduced shrub, now covers 10% of the islands. Brought for...