That Ship Has Already Sailed?

The US Army Corps of Engineers is reporting that DNA evidence suggests Asian carp may already be present in Lake Michigan. In related news, Louisiana is developing a market for carp by rebranding it as "silverfin." Mmmm, silverfin!

New And Notable

Recent arrivals in the US and beyond:

• Large schools of black mollies (Poecilia latipinna x velifera) have been spotted in Indiana. A new record for that state and by far the most northern record of this common aquarium fish in the US...uh, outside of an aquarium, that is :-).
• There has been an unconfirmed identification of a brackish water snail as Assiminea sp., in Coos Bay in Oregon. Here's hoping it just turns out to be a little known native species, because they found thousands of them.
• The Asian tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) was discovered last month in Louisiana. An aquaculture escape - last year a record of the same species found in Alabama was attributed to floods caused by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.
• The Sirex woodwasp (Sirex noctilio) has been found in Vermont, its first ever appearance in New England.
• A new species of fruit fly (Bactrocera invadens), reported to be in India in the last New and Notable, has now spread to Bhutan. It's spreading so fast, its scientific name is "invadens"!

Veti Good, Or Veti Bad?

From the Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog comes this report about the potential benefits of using vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides) for erosion control in New Orleans. Problem is...and considering where you are reading this, you probably know where this is going...yes: vetiver grass, native to Asia, is considered an invasive species in several parts of the world. A sterile cultivar has been developed for landscaping purposes but it is unclear whether that too is invasive. A Pacific Islands study labeled vetiver grass as a low risk invader. The Vetiver Network disputes the PIER risk assessment but they seem biased.

On the pro side, there is the reputed ability of the grass to repel Formosan termites (Coptotermes formosanus) and prevent flooding. Also, supporters point to the fact that the grass has been grown in New Orleans for over 200 years and has not yet caused a problem. The Army Corps is apparently still thinking about it, and has placed vetiver grass on a short list of species being considered for restoration plantings near the levees.

I think continued disturbance is a good way to prod a species into evolving new characters, including ones we might not want, such as an ability to better spread into natural areas. That's the last thing New Orleans needs, with such a massive natural disturbance as a hurricane having left it so ecologically vulnerable. What do you think?

New And Notable

Recent new arrivals in the USA, courtesy of the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Alert System:

• The brittle naiad, Najas minor, has been reported for the first time in South Dakota, in a lake it has probably been hanging around in since 2003.
• A Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was discovered in the Charles River in Massachusetts. Must have been checking out a free concert, as it was found near the Hatch Shell. The person who discovered it claims he saw more of them in 2006. Uh oh.
• Someone recorded the call of a Rio Grande chirping frog (Syrrhophus cystignathoides) in Louisiana. Normally this species is found only in Southern Texan and Northern Mexico. A range expansion perhaps?
• Puerto Rico has added yet another non-native aquatic plant to its flora: the white water lily (Nymphaea odorata).

Weekend Photoblogging

Yellow flower
Originally uploaded by cyanocorax.

Cynthia from FieldMarking was down in New Orleans recently, volunteering to help clean up houses damaged during Hurricane Katrina. She posted a photo of a lovely yellow vine she notes is thriving in the area - unfortunately it's an invader from Central America known as cat's claw vine, Macfadyena ungus-cati.

Oysters Clam Up

Louisiana oyster farmers are concerned about the effect that importing and growing live bivalves will have on their industry. As reported by The Times-Picayune, their focus is on two problems: 1) Asian oysters (Crassostrea ariakensis) that are being seeded into the Chesapeake Bay, and 2) green mussels (Perna viridis) that were introduced by ballast water and threaten Louisiana oyster beds. If you are interested in the subject of introduced oysters, be sure to check out the book "Nonnative Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay," which is available in its entirety on the web here.

Rodent Revelry

For a tongue-in-cheek perspective on the prominence of the nutria (Myocastor coypus) in Louisiana, you can now view streaming video of a report from Comedy Central's The Daily Show. To view the video, which requires Real Player, go here and click on the photo above "Unendangered Species." While the report follows the typical Daily Show format of insulting the interviewees, they still manage to get some interesting points across. Be prepared to laugh, and if you're easily offended, don't click! Perhaps Comedy Central is on some kind of nutria kick; I recently read that one of their other shows, Insomniac, featured a segment with host Dave Attell on a nutria-hunting trip with the New Orleans police. You can read his diary entry about it by going here and placing your mouse over the photo of Dave with a gun (5th one in).