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36 Comments
- EddiePotato, on 11/09/2009, -1/+16There's a dark irony in the fact that we seem to worry as much about some species being too successful as much as we worry about other species not being successful enough. We should do what we can within reason to avoid disrupting balances, but it must be remembered that nature has always been at war with itself. We didn't start the fire, as it were...
- dillonflynn, on 11/09/2009, -3/+17My first thought when I saw the headline was, "Oh man, I don't have time to read this..."
- AmazingSteve, on 11/09/2009, -0/+6Yeah, you really don't want to be eating anything that comes out of Lake Ontario.
- KingGorilla, on 11/09/2009, -2/+8Can we eat them? Because that would solve a lot of things
- 93ex, on 11/09/2009, -0/+5How so? Mussels/clams/bivalves filter water, true. I'd rather see water quality be improved for NATIVE species to handle the water filtration. Water clarity is not an indicator of water health, as some bodies of water are naturally cloudy, and allowing more light in can create a population explosion of aquatic vegetation beyond what should be happening...everything is connected..
- sporkman, on 11/09/2009, -0/+5Well they're only about the size of your thumbnail, so they're really annoying to eat, and they produce botulism.
- serif69, on 11/09/2009, -0/+3But if you're anything like me, the curiosity of potentially seeing a 15,000-item list won over the thought of having better things to do with your time.
- channon65, on 11/09/2009, -1/+4"Wisconsin has more than 15,000 inland lakes."
Take that Minnesota! - Besundale, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2Ducks around here eat them and drop over dead. They filter the contaminants out of the water, over time causing them to contain a pretty nice concentrate of nasties.
- stonewall123, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2.. and according to the article starving fish, algae blooms on beaches, clogging of water intake pipes.. so they're pretty much NOT fine where they are.
- DrDragun, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2I know it's fighting an inevitable force, like raking leaves on a windy day, but the world would suck if it were filled with just pigeons, rats, cats, and cockroaches (I'm imagining the most competitive animal globally for each niche). As the world becomes more homogeneous and human mechanical transportation drags invasive species all over the globe, there is some merit in trying to keep biodiversity where it is economical to do so.
- Jeff901, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2They are likely edible...But they are small (about the size of a molar tooth, so the likely only use is in flavoring sauces....
- inkubusfan, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2they're here and they're hungry!
- bbqribs, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2Unless of course you're trying to get a ferret in California. They're illegal. But forget the environmental concerns, just start a website like http://www.legalizeferrets.org/
- rmxz, on 11/09/2009, -3/+5Invasive Species == Survival in the face of climate change == Evolution at work.
People are so concerned about amphibian declines; yet complain that the Cane Toad is taking over places it's not native to. Perhaps it'd be better for amphibians globally if we *let* them move into habitats where they survive better; rather than trying to constrain them to their historical watering holes. After spreading across a continent, I imagine cane toads will soon fork into many new species to make up for some of the ones that are just barely getting by. - Feenix566, on 11/09/2009, -1/+3Survival of the fittest.
- burnttoast11, on 11/09/2009, -1/+3That is because Wisconsin counts lakes that are less than 10 acres in size. (9,037 of their total "15,081" lakes fall into this category.) If Minnesota were to include lakes of this size, they could approach or exceed 20,000 lakes.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Which_state_has_more_lak ...
From the above website:
"In addition, when considering the surface area of each of the states five largest lakes (great lakes excluded), Wisconsin's largest cover 204,105 acres whereas Minnesota's top five total 896,387. Furthermore, the surface area of Minnesota's largest eight lakes is greater than all 15,081 lakes in Wisconsin. Minnesota also possesses more shoreline than California, Florida, and Hawaii combined."
So take that Wisconsin! - happyimbecile, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1Especially when it's 15,000 all being on separate pages.
- DiggCommando, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1It says something about the world we build around us that some of the species best adapted to it are cockroaches and pigeons (ie. rats with wings).
Humans have invented few truly original things, so much that has benefited us has come from the study and copying of nature that it would be silly to ignore the benefits of biodiversity. - TheYellowMole, on 11/09/2009, -0/+1I am a Chicagoan who spends his summers at an inland lake at the North Woods of Wisconsin, so this issue has been on my radar for a while. I believe reading about a year ago of a bio-pesticide with something like a 98% kill rate that was being commercialized by a museum in New York... anybody know anything about where this is today?
- kishigo, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1The anthropogenic factor is what differs invasive species from species expanding their range. Since humans are responsible for the spread of invasives, such as commercial ballast dumping in the Great Lakes, we ought to have an understanding of its repercussions. Just like we should know what happens when we put BPA in plastic water bottles.
Also, I've had Vander-Zanden as a professor. He has an incredible hairstyle. - JohnnySoftware, on 11/09/2009, -0/+1Like humans in North America:
Phase 1 - wipe out saber tooth tigers
Phase 2 - wipe out indigenous humans
Phase 3 - go to phase 2 - mstrebe, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1Good enough!
- sneakyness, on 11/09/2009, -1/+1I live in Michigan. I must admit I'm sick of hearing about this. Murder Mitten needs to boss up.
- motters, on 11/09/2009, -1/+1Recreational worrying seems to have become a competitive sport, with multiple causes all competing for worriers. Will there ever be a time when there is nothing much to worry about?
- davidg11, on 11/09/2009, -1/+1And they have the ONE BILLION mosquitoes to prove it so take THAT Wiscon.....oh wait...
- neutron7, on 11/09/2009, -0/+0Get some cane toads. they will solve everything.
- HtownLefty, on 11/10/2009, -0/+0You can't blame those who feed their kids shipping or fishing, nor kids with cut feet. Everyone has an agenda, be it noble or less than.
We do however somewhat overstep our bounds pronouncing the mussels "invaders". Our own sense of fatality sympathizes with "struggling native species", as well as a nagging fear of the uncertain future remaining for our biosphere. As if deep inside they knew the gods were angry, and curiously refrained from comment...
IMHO, We do have bigger fish to fry just now, and I take it as no surprise that business lobbies overrun any effort to practice ecological moderation much less meaningful (however misguided) management. - stonewall123, on 11/09/2009, -1/+1Not a bad thought. Tilapia is invasive to Florida and is a great locally caught addition to the supermarket seafood section. Unfortunately these mussels as others have already pointed out are very small.
- JWcolour, on 11/09/2009, -1/+0I had a cottage on Canandaigua Lake (one of the finger lakes in NY). Used to love being there until zebra mussels exploded on the scene, rather annoying you couldn't go into the water without wearing water shoe thingy's. Otherwisie it was almost certain that you were going to get cut good by one of the mussels. This happened a long time ago, most likely got into the lake from sticking to someones boat who moved it from Lake Erie or something to Canandaigua. Kind of ruined the fun, though honestly I was more pissed about that than the ecological effects of them.
- dromni, on 11/09/2009, -6/+5Invasive species are here to stay, get over it.
If that makes you more comfortable with the idea, remember that many of the so-called "native" species are in fact invasive species from other ages. - tgc1, on 11/09/2009, -7/+5We have other ***** to worry about. Mainly our sinking ***** factory known as the economy.
/ buried. - davidg11, on 11/09/2009, -4/+1I like the idea of CLEAR great lakes....and not the muddy/green murky great lakes. Guess thats just me....far more interesting than clogged industrial pipes.
- Locnar, on 11/09/2009, -10/+5Actually, The Zebra mussels are doing wonders for Lake Erie.. there acting as a filtering system and cleaning alot of the garbage out of the lake..
As long as we don't wake up and have a 20 ft tall Zebra Mussel stopping Cleveland into a mud hole, they are fine were they are at!!
(please save the Cleveland jokes for another day.. were all stocked up here) - smashTasker, on 11/09/2009, -14/+3Who cares, it's the midwest.
- miket, on 11/09/2009, -14/+1first post!
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