Stoats and Toads

According to this article from The Dominion, New Zealand has commissioned a group of inventors to produce 100,000 of their traps, after test proved that they were highly effective at capturing stoats (Mustela erminea). The stoats were introduced to New Zealand from Britain over a century ago, and are now the most common invasive predator mammal there, as well as a key threat to rare New Zealand bird species.

From Dave Barry's blog, of all places. Dave also posted a link to this article about cane toads (Bufo marinus) last week. Spread the word Dave!

But officer, I LOVE my camphor tree!

In a story that would make residents of Palm Beach County cringe, the peculiarly named Natal Witness is reporting that private landowners in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa are under siege by "plant police." The police are patrolling every inch of the town, in many cases demanding that certain invasive plants be removed from gardens. Citizens, who face fines or jail time if they flout the law, are coming up with various excuses for not removing the plants, including cost, sentiment, and even religion.

Wild on Canada

It's National Wildlife Week in Canada, April 6-12. The theme this year is "Native Species, Nature's Choice," and of course you can't say too much about native species without addressing invasive non-natives. Canadians can find activities in their area by clicking here (though I have to say it's a disappointingly short list). If you want to know more about what's invasive in Canada, be sure to visit the new Invasive Species of Canada online database.

Baby steps

For those of you who missed it (I sure did), the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act passed its first House subcommittee about a month ago, and has moved on to the House Science Committee. You can read the story, from the Kansas City Star, by clicking here.

Dead ant, dead ant.....

There was an imported red fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) conference in California this past week, and some attendees are sounding more optimistic than ever about eradicating the annoying invasive insects. According to this article in the Orange County Register, the county has gone from being heavily infested to having the ants restricted mostly to median strips and landscaped areas. No information in the article about how they did it, but apparently the region had some help from its dry climate and sage scrub habitat, both of which inhibit the ants' ability to colonize and reproduce. You can click here to see the entire conference agenda.

The little conference with the big, big name

You can now submit abstracts online for the IPINAMS-EMAPI7 Conference. That giant acronym stands for "Invasive Plants in Natural and Managed Systems/7th International Conference on the Ecology and Management of Alien Plant Invasions" (whew!). The conference, held from November 3-7, 2003 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, will be an opportunity for anyone interested in invasive plants to hear great talks and meet a lot of great people. Abstracts for posters and oral presentations are due by May 15th.

Super NOVA

Airing tonight on PBS, and all through the month, is "Deep Sea Invasion." Brought to you by the folks from the science program NOVA, it's the story of the invasive marine algae Caulerpa taxifolia and its impact on the environment. If you're in the U.S., you can go here to find out when the program is airing in your area.

Thanks to a member of the ALIENS-L listserver for posting information about the program.