Just curious, anyone know if this unusually harsh winter for the eastern US is putting a dent in our invasive cichlid/pleco/any other fish problem.
2013/14 winter and invasive fish
- Thread starter jonny5
- Start date
It's possible but probably a small dent..A few winters ago the temperature in parts of Florida dropped pretty low and a lot of the fish and land evasives did die off but enough of the fish seemed to take refuge near power plants that kept the nearby waters warm enough to sustain them until the temps raised again.
I know in MN they are saying our harsh cold could have killed off a lot of emerald ash borer, which would be hugely helpful for our forests.
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That would be awesome! I know here in WI they may be changing the firewood laws to make them even more strict because of the little devil bug. If they have survived the last 3 weeks of -50 they must have some damn superpowers!
I've been hearing about firewood shortages...It'd be nice if a good bit of the carp that have decimated some areas are wiped out.
It's possible the a harsh winter can wiped out the populations of invasive species. It has happened before. Wolffish used to be an invasive fish in Florida for awhile till one coldest winter wiped out entire populations. Interestingly on the same year of the harsh winter wiped out the wolfish, there was a breeding population of black piranha actually survived the harsh winters.
You have a link to the wolf fish and breeding population of Black Piranha? I just checked here and didn't see them listed http://www.myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/freshwater-fish/
Edit: I did find this, but not sure if I would call it invasive, it was a small 1000+ gallon outdoor pond. If it was in the canals, then it would be a different story.
S. rhombeus has the dubious distinction (along with Pygocentrus nattereri) of being the only two species of piranha introduced in Unites States waters. In Florida (1977), a breeding population was discovered at an abandoned amusement park (originally misidentified as S. humeralis) in Dade County. They were found in an over 1,000 gallon outdoor pond where they reproduced. Even more interesting, the fish survived during Florida's winter. Preserved specimens from the Miami area were deposited at University of Florida UF 87975, UF 97059 ) and were determined by W. L. Fink University of Michigan [personal communication between Leo Nico Florida DNR and W. L. Fink, Voucher specimens: Florida to be S. rhombeus and not S. humeralis.
Technically they are invasive species because they can still escape from that pond and into the canals during hurricanes. F&W officials wiped out that pond to prevent the piranhas escaping into the canals.
Yea I realize that, because it was abandoned. What about the Wolf fish? I'd like to read about that.
An invasive species is defined as an organism (plant, animal, fungus, or bacterium) that is not native and has negative effects on our economy, our environment, or our health. Not all introduced species are invasive.
