marimo balls/zebra mussels

[OnlyGenusCaps]

That cute picture won’t work in Washington State, unfortunately. The California sea lion is contributing to the depletion of the salmon population and some people here are very happy to contribute to their demise by shooting them.

Probably a topic for a different thread, but are they? I'm not saying they aren't in this case, but seals often get accused of competing with fisherman for fish. The cases I am currently aware of for that show little to no evidence, when studies are done. It would be interesting if that were different there. Just curious.

 

[eatyourpeas]

Probably a topic for a different thread, but are they? I'm not saying they aren't in this case, but seals often get accused of competing with fisherman for fish. The cases I am currently aware of for that show little to no evidence, when studies are done. It would be interesting if that were different there. Just curious.

There are some people here who believe the California seals are bad. They do not hesitate to shoot them even when they are peacefully resting on buoys. I have sadly come across seals with gunshots to the head when I walk on beaches. No need for another thread, I do not think. It was just a comment to your picture.

Edit: Adding that California seals are not a native species here and have become invasive due to their increasing population.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I talked to a fishing boat captain out in Crescent City a couple years ago and he got going on sea lions. I told him he sounded like a Wyoming rancher talking about wolves, for exactly the same reason. I personally appreciate and respect wolves as fellow hunters and magnificently beautiful animals. But I can see where the ranchers are coming from, too. Wolves do, in fact, kill livestock, pets, etc., and if my animals were on the receiving end, I suppose wouldn't be crazy about them, either. People on both sides get a little bit weird about wolves. They provoke very strong, not necessarily rational emotions.

I suspect people who depend on fish for their living feel much the same about seals and sea lions.

 

[Colin_T]

People need to learn to share the planet with other life forms. The North American Indians used to live with wolves, bears and all sorts of animals. They occasionally got attacked and killed by them but there were a lot more animals back then compared to now.

Tasmanian Tigers (Thylacene) were hunted to extinction by white man. The Aboriginals didn't have a problem with the Thylacene, only the white folk did. The animals were blamed for attacks on people and livestock. Boy did they get that wrong. After all the Thylacene were dead the attacks continued. It was wild and domestic dogs killing the livestock and people killing people. The poor bloody Thylacene was made a scape goat and wiped off the face of the Earth by stupid scumbag people.

Why can't white people get along with the animals too?
Answer, because most people are greedy and selfish and don't care about the environment.

Wolves help keep smaller animals under control and many small mammals eat plants and stop trees from growing.

Sea Lions eat fish, squid and anything else they can catch. They take one at a time and eat whatever they catch. This is unlike people who use nets and take everything from an area, and either kill it all or throw the injured unwanted stuff overboard to rot.

Sorry, just ranting and raving like the loon I am. Back onto topic now.

 

[madmark285]

On

At what point is something so invaded we can just decide to have fun with it? I've been trying to get folks here behind the idea of introducing Baikal seals to Lake Superior. I mean we have all the crap, let's introduce something cute. I mean look at this thing?! Those eyes are saying "Bring me to live in your lake, pweese!"

Yep, those eyes will do it. When the Asian carp get into the Great Lakes, let's sign a long term contract with the seals. Eat all the carp you want, on weekend you have to hang around the piers looking cute for the tourist.

But I agree, why are invasive species always crap. Just once I like to see "Maine Lobsters invade Great Lakes"! How about importing that Blue Crab that eats Zebra mussel like popcorn?

 

[madmark285]

I suspect people who depend on fish for their living feel much the same about seals and sea lions.

On Lake Ontario (and all the Great Lakes), it is the cormorant who is eating all the fish. Shoot-out at Little Galloo

The 1,000 Island area off Lake Ontario was once a legendary recreational fishing spot but no more. I believe it is a combination of everything, Zebra mussels disrupting the food chain, clear water allows easy hunting for the Salmon and Cormorant and over fishing by humans.

 

[madmark285]

A bit off topic but this is truly sad....

Satellite Imagery Shows Northern California Kelp Forests Have Collapsed

 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

A bit off topic but this is truly sad....

Satellite Imagery Shows Northern California Kelp Forests Have Collapsed

With the sea stars no longer controlling the urchins, and the kelp gone so the sea otters won't in the area, I think we need to do the same thing @WhistlingBadger said they do in WY with carp - open season on urchin! They are tasty, although the same this hasn't controlled lionfish in FL, which are also delicious. It's really sad to see a system so changed, so quickly.

 

[MammaBearinTN]

Here in Tennessee, we're quite sure that kudzu may be the only thing that survives a nuclear blast. It's the vine that's "eating the south." People just don't realize what an invasive species can do until it's too late.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Here in Tennessee, we're quite sure that kudzu may be the only thing that survives a nuclear blast. It's the vine that's "eating the south." People just don't realize what an invasive species can do until it's too late.
View attachment 131480View attachment 131482

Same thing with the air potato plants, Dioscorea bulbifera

Species Information for Bradford County - Florida Invasive Species Partnership

 

[eatyourpeas]

A bit off topic but this is truly sad....

Satellite Imagery Shows Northern California Kelp Forests Have Collapsed

There is a big concern with dredging here in WA state for those reasons. The disturbance of marine ecosystems is causing their collapse in some areas.

 

[madmark285]

With the sea stars no longer controlling the urchins, and the kelp gone so the sea otters won't in the area, I think we need to do the same thing @WhistlingBadger said they do in WY with carp - open season on urchin! They are tasty, although the same this hasn't controlled lionfish in FL, which are also delicious. It's really sad to see a system so changed, so quickly.

The Lionfish has spread throughout the Caribbean. I believe it is open season on them, kill as many as you can. I read that cooking lionfish in a Ceviche recipe is quite tasty!

In the Great Barrier Reef, the native crown-of-thorns starfish is the top killer of coral (along with the big El Nino's). I like this solution, RangerBot Drones killing the starfish.Just imagine a unmanned base anchored in the reefs with solar power which could recharge the drones and refill them with vinegar. Just let the drones hunt 24/7.

Instead of useless projects like joy rides into space, I wish these billionaire like Elon Musk or Jared Isaacman would fund projects to save the earth. Maybe MacKenzie Scott can help, she has alot of money to give away.

 

[FFGuest6357]

On Lake Ontario (and all the Great Lakes), it is the cormorant who is eating all the fish. Shoot-out at Little Galloo

The 1,000 Island area off Lake Ontario was once a legendary recreational fishing spot but no more. I believe it is a combination of everything, Zebra mussels disrupting the food chain, clear water allows easy hunting for the Salmon and Cormorant and over fishing by humans.

Those cormorants are a pest, I see them all the time, or used to, when I lived by the lake a year and half or so ago.

 

[Colin_T]

Cormorants are a sign the river is healthy. If they are no longer around, it's because the river is bad.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Why can't white people get along with the animals too?
Answer, because most people are greedy and selfish and don't care about the environment.

Wolves help keep smaller animals under control and many small mammals eat plants and stop trees from growing.

Oh, now you've done it, Colin; you've sent me into essay-writing mode. ha ha

It isn't white people; it's agricultural people. As soon as we start raising crops and animals, we quit seeing wild animals as brothers and start seeing them as competitors. It's inevitable, and it happens all over the world. It happens on the Indian Reservation just down the road.

Your comment about wolves controlling rodents is true of coyotes and foxes, and probably somewhat true of the original, now extinct wolves around here. But it is not so much of the Canadian wolves they "reintroduced" back in the 80s. Those mostly feed on large ungulates, and they are very fond of cattle and sheep when they can get them. It's hard to blame them; animals don't understand property rights, and a calf is a lot easier to catch than an elk. I personally would classify these wolves as an invasive (sub)species. They aren't all bad, and I love hearing them howl when I'm out in the hills. But they probably don't belong here, and if I made my living raising cattle, I wouldn't want them around. Some common-sense game policies have allowed a reasonable coexistence, though: Wolves are protected in designated wilderness areas (and we're talking HUGE areas, hundreds of thousands of acres), but outside those areas they can be hunted at will. Wolves are very smart, and when this policy was implemented they very quickly learned to avoid people and places where people go, or to keep a very low profile when traveling through those areas. So, we still have a healthy wolf population, but conflicts with humans have almost disappeared.

I wish we could adopt a similar policy with grizzly bears. The local biologists would like to, but the federal government, prodded by big-city armchair "environmentalists," won't allow it. Dumb. Grizzly bears do belong here, but they frequently have no real qualms about killing and eating people. I don't consider myself greedy or selfish, and I do care very much about the environment. I also care about my family not getting mauled because we accidentally stumble onto a kill. Government policies have artificially inflated their numbers and taught them not to fear people, which is a dangerous situation. I don't think they should be exterminated, but I don't think allowing hunters to off a few of the more aggressive ones to instill the fear of man would be such a bad idea. A little hunting can be good for both species, in the long run.

The real problem is that good animal habitat is also good people habitat, and there are a lot of people. Sometimes I think the big-city policy makers forget that, even in Wyoming, there are no more blank spots on the map. Sometimes coexisting means there is less room for animals, especially the kinds that are inclined to munch on people and their possessions. It's kind of sad, but there you go.

OK, thanks for letting me get that off my chest.