Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Guys/Gals......aside from POLITICIANS (Sorry had to do that..) what is THE MOST destructive fauna that has been introduced to North America(U.S.A.) in the last 50 years? Destructive to native species, habitat, waterways etc.. I was pondering it over in my mind...along with reruns from Ren And Stimpy...so I thought I'd share this question with you. Feel free to answer....plenty of room,,,,please no pushing....theres room for everyone! lol

Most Destructive INTRODUCED Animal,fish,amphibian,bird,mammal,insect, etc etc

This should be interesting...

sincerely,

Fred Albury

It doesn't fit the last 50 years criteria but the domestic house cat has to be right near the top.

How do you measure "destructive"?, economics? ecologically?, disease vectors?, personal impact? etc.
Top candidates would include: feral cats, Norway and black rats, etc. Feral cats truly are a pestilence, and the amazing politics that surrounds any effort to reduce them will make your head spin. Cats are killing millions of songbirds, gamebirds, reptiles, small mammals per year, impacting via competition for food other predators, spreading/harboring disease etc. Want to help the environment and make the Earth a better place in a tangible way? Put out some bird houses and eliminate some feral cats. 5 per year is all I ask...what if every birder, herper, natural history enthusiast did it? Anecdote: I eliminated a cat colony near my home, and the Sceloporus (lizards) and small snakes have greatly increased in about 3 years time.

Ah shoot...I just reread, you said last 50 years...this will take some thought. Vic

Fire Ants have to be up there, especially when it comes to effects on the biggest variety of species.

My top 10 list (not in the last 50 years that is):
Feral Cats
Marine Toads
Hogs
Burmese pythons
Monitors
Snake heads fish
Norway rats
German Cocroaches
and many species of trees/bushes/grasses/weeds.....
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David Hiscock.

In Florida,it's snowbirds....
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Lloyd Heilbrunn

Palm Beach Gardens, Fl.

...and feral hogs, termites, marine toads, cats,..........
email me.
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

are creating big problems:
Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) in competition with our squirrel, and also destructive for our forests.
Trachemys ssp, stronger than our emys and desctructive for our ponds.
red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) that is very very dangerous, it's expanding very fast and destroying everything it finds on its way (we call it killer crayfish)
there are nutrias (Myocastor coypus)and for sure other animals but I don't remember...
ciao
nazzza

Zebra mussels...yellow Jackets...neocons...oh...sorry, non-politician! Uh...Asian ladybugs! Damn, those things are a real stinky neck biting nuisances.

Chinese Mantises have worked out OK, so far as I know.

I would say thre Zebra Muscle and if you go back more than 50 years European Starling.

hard to say for the last 50 years...

if you expand the time frame and taxonomic delineation, i'd go with zebra mussel, european starling, and fire ants (fauna) and kudzu, water hyacinth, cheat grass (flora).

there are also the "within the US" invaders -- those moved or allowed to move to places where they don't naturally occur. bullfrogs in the west and lampreys in the great lakes.

if you count personal economic expenditure, then one must consider the invasion of our living rooms, bedrooms, basements, and garages of the highly addictive Drymarchon... ;^)

matt

Geez Fred,

What a question....

Cuban anoles, Monk parakeets, zebra mussels, snakehead whatever fish, breeding populations of Nile monitors, Burmese, Retics, Anacondas in the 'glades, hard to decide.

Reality is they're gonna win. Shame but it's true.

MOST destructive? I'd vote for the fish.

Regards,
Jeff

But also Feral Hogs, Feral Cats, Burms, Cuban Tree Frogs, Cuban Anoles, Monitors, etc... hard to think of anything I hate more than Fire Ants though.
Just my 2 cents...
Take care,
Justin

Hate 'em too,

With a passion for killing them that knows no bounds. I giggle like a little girl as I watch them die.... Fortunately tho' they seem to have fallen off my radar scope where I live currently. Haven't seen any.

Had 'em in Charleston and NOLA. They really suck.

Regards,
Jeff

I've no idea of the timeline of these and one's from the U.S. but here in Northern California, I'm thinking, feral cats, bullfrogs and starthistle, a toxic ubitquous and pointy weed.
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0.1 chickens (Condor)
0.2 dog mutts (half ownership, only mine when they misbehave, Lucy & Amy)
0.1 Halflinger horse (Crissy)
0.1 Normal phase California Kingsnake (Sophia)
1.1 parents
Still searching for 1.0 WC human

These things are taking over the IL, MO. & Mississippi rivers.
They grow to 12lbs by the time they're a year old & can top out at 80-100 lbs. These things are everywhere & if that's not bad enough, they jump out of the water and into boats, sometimes injuring those on board. Can you imagine a 100lb fish flying at you!?

Eric
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If Jesus is your co-pilot, you'd better change seats!

How do they taste?

Regards,
Jeff

I've heard they are VERY good, nice clean white meat!
Next one I catch I will be eating & then I can give you a first hand account!

Eric
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If Jesus is your co-pilot, you'd better change seats!

Please do report, these sound hilarious! Do they really jump into boats? Are these what some call "grass carp", an escaped aqualculture fish from Arkansas? Some rednecks need to develop a market for these fish, maybe alligator farms...

Feral cats and illegal aliens......

My wife.

Sighthunter's wife & killer algae.
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"I may be crazy, but ya know... I can rationalize just about anything."

plant - kudzu! (although I don't know when it was introduced)
animal - fire ant
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

I WOULD HAVE TO GO WITH FIRE ANTS

most destructive...easy in the 1492 the introduction of non native homo sapiens. without that all else would be a moot point at best..eric

I have heard Kentucky Bluegrass is the #1 pest species from an economic perspective. I have heard this mentioned in more than one talk at ecological conferences. I even heard it way back when during my undergraduate ecology course.

I suppose that makes it the most destructive as well. The stuff really outcompetes native grasses.

Note this is not my opinion, but the opinion of scientists I have heard speak. I do have a biology degree and I am published but ecology was not my field of interest. I do not have the background to agree or disagree with their position.

Regardless, I wonder how many of us herpers spend good money keeping Kentucky Bluegrass alive in our yards?

Kentucky Bluegrass was introduced more than 50 years ago.

I don't know what my next guess would be. Almost certainly another plant species.

Awesome post Eric. :0)

I somewhat disagree with this one. Non-native Homo sapiens are the same species as the "Natives". The arrival of Euro's did not bring any major genetic distinctions except for some immunity to diseases that only affected the previously established populations.

The real difference in their arrival was technology, not genetics.

For a good read on this, check out:
"Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond. It's a Pulitzer Prize winning book and very understandable.

Doug T

>>most destructive...easy in the 1492 the introduction of non native homo sapiens. without that all else would be a moot point at best..eric

np

np

There needs to be laws against letting cats run loose.
I have empathy for the things...but not enough that I wouldn't want to see every one of them eliminated (hopefully painlessly)

Nonetheless...cat owners need to WAKE UP!!

I could not agree more. I would vote for a total indoor cat law. Everytime I bring this subject up cat owners don't want to hear it. They don't seem to care/realize the damage the cat does to the small animals in their area. It is a real shame and needs to be stopped.

BTW, Dixie is doing great. She is in shed now but I'll post new pics soon. Thanks again buddy.

Justin

Lol...I actually do like cats, the bigger the better. BUT I can EASILY see how the things predate upon anything in their environment. If you go down to our local bay, their are cats living in the large rocky outcroppings adjacent to the water. Abandoned pets that are now feral and fending for themselves, and doing quite well,thank you. So well that they are making more F-2 het for completely schizoid felines that are scared to death of people and are master hunters/dumpster divers. 'I'd like to find the people that dropped them off and slap them with a hefty fine and the job of telling the community that letting cats go is destructive act and why.

They are one hell of an efficient predator though.
I have seen one attack a DUCK. Now thats hunting.Big Duck too.
I agree....keep them inside..with scratching posts and dishes of Friskies And catnip...lots of catnip.....

Fred Albury

Sorry....

Yes this includes Cat. And possum, and squirrel. lol

Dont think I could eat a cat or a dog. But possums....heck yeah!

lol
Fred

Fire Ants and Kudzu hands down..
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Carl W Gossett
Garage Door Herps
Monument,Colorado...northern territory of the Great Republic of Texas

The Trap/Neuter/Release programs are a joke. These animals need to be removed from the wild. If cat owners don't want them killed, they can adopt all of them into their homes.

I agree with everybody else, feral cats have to be one of the most destructive non native species for several reasons.1 is that cats kill for both survival and fun,cats that are 15 pounds can still catch birds and others just for fun.2 the another reason that they are so destructive is because throughout the years so many people either own cats or just feed the local strays,in other words ensuring their survival for decades.3 there are just to #$*@#!ing many of them.
Another species that is very destructive is the common fire ant.In sout Texas fire ants kill a wide variety of fauna like snake eggs, bird eggs, fawns, and the texas horned toad,just to list a few.
I dont know much about feral hogs except I hunt them and I can say from what Ive seen they are overpopulated,as far as being destructive al that I know is that they will jump at the chance to kill snakes and destroy many types of flora.
I must say from all the species of animals that iv'e seen is very dangerous,it can be found just about anywere.The species that I think is the most destructive is the common human(Idioticas Idioticas).Behavior:ignorant
Habitat:anywere
Prey:anything
Abundance:all to common
Reproduction:no season

On the American Island of Guam, introduced rat snakes have caused the extinction of all a few of the native bird species.

I just sean a piece on TV the other day & how the posion from the skin has killed off alot of native species & dogs in Austrilia & hawaii.
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norcalsnakemaster@comcast.net