Bad Boys from Brazil

According to this article from the Wilmington Star, Brazilian waterweed (Egeria densa) may be responsible for fish kills near the confluence of Town Creek and Rice Creek in Brunswick County, North Carolina. The South American aquatic weed is known to invade fresh water ecosystems, usually after it is dumped by unknowing or uncaring aquarists. Scientists think the fish kills in NC are caused by die off of the Brazilian waterweed, since the decomposition of the plant material uses up large amounts of dissolved oxygen that the fish need to survive. No word yet on what is causing the weed die off.

Invasive Plant Conference

Starting Monday is the "Janet Meakin Poor" Research Symposium, hosted by the Chicago Botanic Garden. I will be attending the conference, so no new blog posts until the end of next week.

Get it in writing

Newly in print: The Journal of Evolutionary Biology has this article (link to abstract) in its November issue, about differences between populations of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) in Sweden. The authors found evidence suggesting that plant characters have evolved in part based on climatic gradients. Also new in print is Aquatic Invasive Species of Europe, a new book from Kluwer Academic Publishers. From the main page you can view authors, references, and appendices in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format.

Black and Bluebird

If you were in Story County, Iowa last weekend, you may have been lucky enough to catch volunteers from Iowa State University and the Ames community acting out skits to show kids the problems that invasive species cause. According to this article in Iowa State Daily, one skit featured native bluebirds (Sialia spp.) being kicked out of their territory by European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and sparrows. The skits were followed by a hike in 200-acre McFarland Park.

Like "Queen Anne's Lace on steroids"

That's how the writer of this article describes giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). A major invasive species in Europe, giant hogweed is only an "up-and-coming" here, having been spotted this year in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and now Michigan.

A Good Read about a Bad Reed

From Newsday comes this article under the heading of "Marshlands Marauders." Madeline Bodin has written an excellent piece about the common reed (Phragmites australis). While focused on problems caused by the species at a Nature Conservancy preserve in Vermont, the article also touches on the issues of native vs. non-native Phragmites and the search for a good biological control.

Knotweed Concerto in B Minor

This is pretty cool...Ed's Internet Yard Sale, part of the Turner Toys home page, has Pipes of Pan made from Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) stems! The page is a bit outdated, so they may not be available anymore, but it is a neat idea, and if you know how to tune a musical instrument you should be able to make your own version.