'A Killer Appetite'

Is your fridge starting to look bare as the week draws to a close? Before your next trip to the supermarket why don’t you take a leaf out of conservation biologist Joe Roman’s book and stock up on edible invasive species instead?

The idea behind this campaign is simple: to protect our vulnerable ecosystem against invasives, we can proactively contribute towards reducing population sizes by eating them! This can even be done without your taste buds even noticing, for example trading the type of venison meat that you eat from Red or Roe deer to Sika deer. But if you’re feeling a little more adventurous you could even make a spicy curry using the Himalayan balsam (mentioned in the previous post).  

If this whets your appetite and you’re intrigued to find out more then check out these websites where some tasty recipes await you!

eattheinvaders.org

invasivore.org

 It appears that this idea is catching on everywhere...

                                                                          (BBC, 2013)

I can certainly see the pros of eating invasives, and feeling like you’re making a positive contribution to biodiversity may bring a rewarding meal to the table. However personally, I am slightly apprehensive to promote eating of invasive species without further evidence that it has causes a decline in the spread of species around the globe. I feel that a large proportion of the population would have to be on board this idea in order for it to be a sustainable method of population control. If countries gets an appetite for invasive species, it will no doubt increase the demand for the species, and to ensure that the supply meets the demand we will ultimately be doing a U-turn. Before we know it we will be farming invasive species, defeating the whole object!

On that note I’ll leave you to ponder whether you’ll be replacing Friday nights fish and chips with crayfish and chips? 

Catch me if you can!

   WANTED

Royal Horticultural Society

Himalayan balsam 

(Impatiens glandulifera)

Species description: Large dense stands of bright pink/purple flowers that often tower over you, reaching heights of up to 10 ft tall. 

Where: Since 1839, this species has been at large in the UK during the summer months, spotted along river banks, wasteland and residential gardens. A single plant can produce up to 800 seeds, helping it spread across the country via wind, water and human activity (Royal Horticultural Society). 

Effect on biodiversity and landscape : This plant has a negative impact on species diversity, and can potentially lead to a 25% reduction in species richness at sites where it grows. Light sensitive plants are at particular threat from this invasive species.(Hulme and Bremner, 2006).

The plant is renowned by Bees all over the country for producing a sugar rich nectar at a very rapid rate. Consequently it is preferentially pollinated, enhancing the spread of I. glandulifera whilst having a negative effect on the fitness of native species (Chittkaand Schürkens, 2001)

Additionally, I. glandulifera dies out at the end of summer and removal of the plant biomass leaves the large areas of empty river banks which are liable to soil erosion. (Shaw and Tanner, 2008). 

In 2013 this invasive species hit national headlines!

Human introduction of invasives

When my best friend's family decided to up sticks and move to Australia, she was gutted to find that as well as leaving all her friends behind, “Rodney” the guinea pig couldn’t journey with them either. Whilst some pets are welcomed with (relatively) open arms in Australia, poor Rodney along with many other animals was not. This is because the introduction of pets is one of the main ways which humans can facilitate the transport of invasives. Historically before tight controls were implemented, it was not uncommon for adventurers to take their pets with them; sealers for example would travel with cats and dogs to oceanic islands (Taylor, 1979). 

Without prior knowledge of the potential negative impact of  invasives, this behaviour from our ancestors is understandable. Some rationale behind the deliberate introduction of species however, is just downright crazy. For example at the end of the 19^th century, The American Acclimatization Society decided that it was completely reasonable to try and introduce all of the birds ever mentioned in a play written by William Shakespeare to North America (Mirsky, 2008). This movement as a whole was inevitably unsuccessful however, the European Starling is now well established across the USA.  

Perhaps more sensibly, species may be introduced to a new location to act as a biological control. Biological controls reduce the population of other species that are having a negative effect on the environment. But biological controls have the potential to get out of control! The Cane Toad is an excellent example of a species that was introduced to Australia in 1935 to control the cane beetle population, and in turn has had catastrophic effects on native organisms (Shine, 2010).   

Despite man kind’s best effort to limit the spread of species from their native range in the 21^st Century, accidents do happen, and certain organisms can be little rascals. The small size of some animals and seeds enable them to be easily transported; hiding in cargo travelling across the globe e.g. rats (Atkinson, 1985), in the ballast water of boats (Roberts, 1990), or even on the bottom of your shoes.

On that note I feel that it is perfect time to introduce one of the most notorious species of this topic, behold the Zebra Mussel:

 (Wildlife Forever/ North America Fishing Club, 2013)

Introduction

Hi my name is Elena and I’m currently studying for a Masters in Climate Change at UCL. As someone new to the blogging world, the understanding I have is that you should blog about something you’re passionate about. So here’s why I've chosen my topic..

If somebody asked me to imagine an idyllic landscape, there is no doubt that what would immediately spring to my mind is the typical British countryside. Perhaps this is because I have so far been unadventurous in my travels and aside from growing up in London, the only other place I have lived for a prolonged period of time is Yorkshire. However, wherever your dream destination, I am almost positive that the environmental conditions present would allow for a range of insects, animals, plants and trees to survive. Furthermore, depending on the location you choose, the organisms present will differ dramatically. In so many words I have just described the term global biodiversity (Convention on Biological Diversity).

You may be interested to hear that species usually thought to be typical of a given location are not always native. Personally I find it remarkable that organisms are able to survive and reproduce outside their natural range, establishing new populations in new locations. These are referred to as alien species (IUCN, 2000).

It is inevitable that you will have encountered multiple alien species throughout your lifetime, here are just some of the UK culprits…

Photos taken from: NNSS

So what’s the big deal?

As an undergraduate I studied Biology, so it is not news to me that biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate. Importantly, invasive alien species can have a hugely negative impact on biodiversity (IUCN, 2000). These organisms have the potential to dramatically change the environment that you know and love. 

I aim to uncover how these species arrive in new locations across the globe. In doing so I hope to gain a greater understanding of the role that humans have in facilitating this movement. I want to understand how detrimental invasive alien species can truly be to biodiversity. The plants and animals pictured above contribute to the ecology of Britain, could there be any advantages of invasive alien species in a time when global biodiversity is declining so dramatically?

"Invasive alien species" is quite a mouth full however, so throughout my blog I will refer to such species as 'Invasives'!