Fun With Video

A peek into the world of invasive species-related videos:

• This one is a real gem: Captain PU in "Attack of the Invasive Species" ...in which a grown man wears tights and a cape, and goes off to fight the invasive aquatic plant known as Eurasian water milfoil. In this version of unreality, the milfoil is a guy standing in the water, dressed in business casual accented by an aluminum foil hat and bow tie. Super cheesy but with a fair amount of useful information about aquatic invaders. Bonus points to you if you get flashbacks to the goofy videos you made with your friends back in school.
• Speaking of goofy videos you made with your friends back in school...this one on YouTube is certainly goofy, but watching a teen dressed up as an invasive Aussie rabbit get shot, poisoned, and attacked is laugh-out-loud funny. This other video may be for the same class project - it's really cute and actually has a lot of good information. Excuse me, I need to go buy some peanut M&M's! LOLZ!!!111!!
• The Center for Aquatic and Invasive Species has put together an identification video for the invasive aquatic plant hydrilla. This is a great idea! The video imparts far more information than you could get from just a set of photos, and does it faster than a fact sheet. Here's hoping it is just the first of many.
• Watch this video to learn about Dave Delaney's citizen science project to monitor marine invasive species that live off the coast of North America. Dave's research focuses on crabs: Asian shore crabs, European green crabs, and the Chinese mitten crab. If you are interested in finding out more about the project or perhaps even volunteering, be sure to check out Dave's website.
• Did this question about invasive species in the Great Lakes make it into the CNN/YouTube Democratic debate? It should have, if only because that kid put on a suit with a bow tie to go to the beach. Go Jake!
• Hankering for a hearty meal? Why not try some Kentucky Tuna? Of course by "Kentucky Tuna," I mean smoked bighead carp! It actually looks good.