Piled higher. and Deeper.

Wishing for long hard hours in the field, followed by long, hard hours in a lab? If you're thinking of translating your interest in invasive species into a higher degree, check out this web page from invasivespecies.gov. It lists U.S. universities and corresponding departments where you might consider applying.

If you are new to the grad school thing, keep in mind that getting in is typically not easy, and your chances are much better if you target your potential advisors beforehand, read up on their most recent publications, and contact them directly (other grads and former grads, feel free to pipe in here!). Also, note that the link above is definitely not a complete list - I can see my alma mater UMass Boston is missing, though I know of several invasive species projects currently going on in the Biology Department. So if you don't find someone that matches your interests through that list, just try searching Google.

Thanks to Thomas D. for sending in the link. A tip of the virtual hat must also go to the excellent online comic PhD for making my labmates and me smile when it seemed like we would never dig ourselves out of graditude.

Spidey Sense

Interesting story from The Ellsworth American about European spiders that have invaded Maine. The tiny European hammock spider (Linyphia triangularis) is the focus of a research project for Jeremy Houser, a UMass Amherst Ph.D. student. Jeremy notes that in the areas of Acadia National Park where the non-native spider has taken up residence, similar native spiders have suffered. The European arachnid currently makes up almost 100 percent of all spiders found along the coastline of Acadia!

Bonus points to The Ellsworth American for using the spider's scientific name.

Blame it on the Rain

Blame it on the huge rainfall Arizona received this past winter, or blame it on environmental degradation, or blame it on the invasive weeds. Any way you look at it, the East Valley Tribune is reporting that last month Arizona had the second largest wildfire in its history. The immediate causes were hot, dry weather and an unusually large crop of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), a non-native species that grows in wide swarths and burns hotter and faster than native Sonoran Desert grasses. Over in Utah, KSL TV is reporting that cheatgrass is being blamed for fires that are endangering the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), an already threatened species.

Thanks to D. Patterson for pointing out the wildfire crisis.

Garden Dining

The Bennington Banner has this story about the "Meet Them, Eat Them" seminar held by the Bennington County Conservation District in Vermont. Participants learned about the state's invasive plants, how to remove them, and then how to make them into tasty treats. The Nature Conservancy's Rose Paul even referred to invasive plants as "McFlora." Poor McDonalds, they must hate that "Mc"-ing of everything! Actually, I think it would be more accurate to refer to pansies, marigolds and geraniums as "McFlora." Got any suggestions for a better nickname for invasive plants? Post comments below.

The article mentions Japanese knotweed a few times (as "knotwood"), then ends with a note about using weeds as compost for growing mushrooms. I highly recommend that you avoid using knotweed in compost, unless you are absolutely sure that the vegetation has been 100% pulverized, burned or boiled to death. Even the tiniest fragments of Japanese knotweed rhizomes or stem nodes can grow into new plants!

Thanks to Al over at Urban Wild for sending in a link to the article.

If a million trees fall in the forest...

BBC News has this report about Keepers of Time: A Statement of Policy for England's Ancient and Native Woodland, a massive English Forestry Commission project to replace non-native trees with native ones. Long ago English forests were depleted for ship building and home construction, and they were replanted with a variety of fast-growing, non-native conifers, including Norway spruce (Picea abies) and North American species of spruce and pine. Now many of these trees and other non-natives are going to be cut down to make way for what officials are hoping is a massive regeneration of native trees. The plan also calls for conversion of plantation lands back to forest.

Thanks to Val C. for sending in a link to the story.

Last First Post

This is a bit old, but I missed reporting about the discovery of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) on a boat about to enter Lake Winnipesaukee. According to this report from the New Hampshire Union Leader, the boat arrived from Ohio the week of June 5th, underwent a routine inspection, and was found to have zebra mussels in several areas, including the engine. The article notes that inspectors pay special attention to any boats coming from the Midwest region, and that the boater had used his vehicle in the Great Lakes. There are currently no known populations of the bivalves in the state of New Hampshire.

Rusted Out

New and notable in Massachusetts this week is daylily rust (Puccinia hemerocallidis), a fungus that attacks, you guessed it, daylilies. The Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Project put out this pest alert to warn nurseries and gardeners of the first diagnosed case of the year. The rust has only been known in Massachusetts since around 2003, and was discovered in the U.S. in 2000. Its hosts appear to be limited to the non-native Hemerocallis (daylily), Patrinia, and Hosta genera.