Carpoon!

Fifth grader wins national invention contest from Popular Science with his underwater fishy-facial recognition weapon, an anti-carp device.

Next Up: Lionfish Triple Crown!

Florida is holding lionfish derbies in an attempt to rid the Florida Keys of this invasive marine fish.

Nutria-palooza!

This November, Brooklyn fashion designers and musicians are teaming up for Nutria-palooza!, a nutria-themed fashion show set to music. The show will feature clothing and jewelry made using the invasive rodent known as Nutria or "coypu" (Myocastor coypus), and at least one band will participate by wearing what they're calling "nutria-gangster" outfits.

Invasive Plants In The Southeastern US

Interesting article - "History of Southeastern Invasive Plants" - in the latest issue of American Nurseryman.

New Jersey Mussel Maker

The Chinese pond mussel (Sinanodonta woodiana) has been found in New Jersey, in a pond formerly used as a fish farm. While this Asian species is known to have invaded many bodies of water in Europe (See 1, 2, 3), this appears to be the first record for this species in the USA.

King Of The Fishes

The Great Lakes-area news is abuzz with the announcement that the US government has appointed an Asian carp czar to oversee efforts to keep Asian carp out of the lakes.

Ms. MILFoil?

Well I guess that's *one* way to fight invasive species...

P.S. - You can also follow her on Twitter.

Le Snakehead Is In La River

A large Indonesian snakehead fish (Channa micropeltes) was found dead in the Saint Charles River in Quebec last month - possibly the first find of this species in the wild in Quebec. It's thought to be a released pet. Need a French translation? Try this forum (towards the bottom of the page)

The Age of Aquaria

Conservation Maven has an article about an interesting new study exploring aquariums as vectors for the accidental introduction of exotic species.

There Is No Word That Rhymes With Tunicate

The invasive tunicate Didemnum was recently discovered in two Oregon bays.

ALB And More

Think you know your bugs? Check out these Asian longhorned beetle look-alikes.

Walnut Bleak

Missouri, the top black walnut producer in the USA, has enacted a quarantine to prevent the introduction of Thousand Cankers disease from the Western USA.

Mixed Signals

A UK man who thought he was doing the environment a favor by catching invasive American signal crayfish out of a local river has been fined £4,000 ($8,000) aftger authorities discovered he had actually caught and eaten the native white-clawed crayfish, an endangered species. Also, turns out he was breaking the law just by trapping for crayfish in Cumbria.

Minneapolis Twigs

A recent report from the city of Minneapolis indicates that the city is poised to lose all 200,000 of its ash trees to the emerald ash borer. A summary of the Greenprint report is available here, and the entire report can be downloaded here.

Citizen Science

Should established non-native mammals be granted "ecological citizenship"? That was one of the conclusions of a new UK study, "The State of Britain’s Mammals."

The Devil's Monkey

This carving is possibly the oddest thing anyone has ever done with a Japanese knotweed rhizome.

Funky Monkey

A rhesus macaque monkey that has been on the loose in Florida for more than a year has reached such heights of popularity among us human folk that it has more than 56,000 Facebook fans.

Hawaiian Punch

Hawaii has found success with a biological control in the effort to save endangered wiliwili trees from invasive gall wasp.

Colorado Crawdads

The USGS reported that rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) were found last year in the Yampa River, Colorado. This is the first record for this East Coast crayfish in Colorado. Read more about Colorado's response at the Western Slope Anglers Forum.

Biofueling The Fire

The Ecologist had an interesting article last month about UK investors that have been selling the idea that the invasive shrub Jatropha is an ethical "green fuel" for developing countries. For more about the invasive potential of this plant in Africa, click on the "jatropha" tag below.

Make It A Fish All

Bad news for fish: viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) was recently found in Lake Superior, meaning that the virus has now been found in all five Great Lakes. (Thanks to TC for the tip)

Best Homework Ever!

Those lucky enough to be enrolled in Duke University must be fighting to get into Dr. Sandra Cooke's excellently titled class, "The Billion Dollar Problem of Aquatic Invasive Species." As part of the coursework, students are required to participate in a blog about aquatic invasives, where they've been posting about everything from Asian swamp eels to the war metaphor for invasive species. Check it out!

Around The World

A recently published study from the Global Invasive Species Program (GISP) showed that on average, every country has 50 invasive species making a negative impact on biodiversity. Want more details? Check out the full publication.

Carping

With the recent controversy regarding Asian carp in the Great Lakes at the forefront, plus well-publicized problems with zebra mussels and snakehead fish, the Washington Post recently pondered the cost of fighting invasive species.

Frog The Bounty Hunter

Coming up this March in Cairns, Australia, is Toad Day Out, an opportunity to win a prize for catching the biggest cane toad (Bufo marinus). The person to deliver the biggest toad, measuring at least 15cm from nose to rear, will win $50 AUS. Toads must be delivered live to the weigh in. Last year's bounty hunt resulted in the collection of more than 6000 of the amphibious invasives!

Camel Pose

Forget goats or sheep...or beetles! A Colorado rancher wants to enlist *camels* in the battle against the invasive shrub known as tamarisk (saltcedar, Tamarix spp.).

Wakey, Wakey, Hands Off Snakey!

The US Fish & Wildlife Service has proposed placing the Burmese python and eight other constrictor-type snakes on the Lacey Act's list of Injurious Species. If approved, this would ban the import and interstate transport of all nine species. The Burmese python is one of several non-native snakes causing concern in Florida due to the establishment of breeding populations in the Everglades. The complete list:

• Burmese python
• northern African python
• southern African python
• reticulated python
• green anaconda
• yellow anaconda
• Beni or Bolivian anaconda
• DeSchauensee’s anaconda
• boa constrictor

(The press release does not provide scientific names; complete details will be published in the Federal Register in February)

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!

Lake Effect

Starting in 2010, New Hampshire will be offering a new grant to municipalities and non-profits who want to remove invasive aquatic plants from the lakes they know and love. To be eligible, lakes must have at least one public access site, and priority will be given to applicants interested in pursuing purchase of Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting (DASH) equipment.

Gray Area

A new study just out in the Journal of Ornithology says that contrary to current thinking, American gray squirrels are actually not linked to the population declines of most native woodland bird species in England. BBC News has the story.

Feral Idaho

After several years of speculation, the presence of feral pigs has been confirmed for the first time in Idaho. The Idaho Nature Notes blog has the details. Surprised this isn't getting more media coverage!