Conservationists DO devote resources judiciously because they they have too. Conservation is grossly under-funded and under-manned.
Its amazing how little gets done in environmental and public health while we throw trillions at a millitary that would still be the most dominant force in the world with half the budget, considering we already spend more than the next 10 nations combined. That doesn't even count dozens of agency offices in the U.S. that used to be part of the U.S. Dept. of Defense, and whose functions in other countries remain under their respective defense departments. Our expenditures are actually much more than this!! I challenge anyone to find 10 nations who can agree on attacking another entity, let alone the next 10 nations in total miliatry spending. Its time to spend money on other things besides policing the rest of the world. M On Fri, Jun 10, 2011 at 11:30 PM, Stephanie Jones <[email protected]> wrote: > If I may interrupt, briefly, I think Esat is not denying the negative impact > of > invasives eg. the lionfish. He seems to suggest that many efforts to > eradicate > invasives might be futile, and even might exploit the fear of invasives for > profit. It also seems that Esat is highlighting the importance of studying > and > even targeting the root cause of introduced species--globalization. Indeed, > as > long as trade expands, as long as opportunities for movement across boundaries > increase, so will chances for ecological invasion. Yet many ecologists, even > those sympathetic to the anti-globalization movement(s?), do not devote their > careers to this. > > > Even if this is not what Esat intended to say, I would offer that > conservationists should devote their resources judiciously, and invasives > removal can become a Sisyphean task when the cause of species invasion is not > abated. I'm sure many of you must acknowledge this in your own work already. > > > Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss > people. > > Eleanor Roosevelt > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Amartya Saha <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Fri, June 10, 2011 6:46:31 PM > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] EcoTone: Speaking of species and their origins > > Dear Esat, Over the past three decades, there are hundreds of examples > worldwide > of exotic invasives negatively impacting ecosystems, and these span both > plants > and animals. > > > Whether expensive exotic removal programs work is another matter, > case-specific > Often the focus is on removal that is hard to do, maybe even futile while > there > are hardly any efforts to prevent further introductions. > > > Ecosystems have always been in flux, the ranges of organisms have always > expanded. However the speed of man-caused introductions of exotic invasives > does > not allow natives adequate time to develop survival or coexistence strategies. > Google lantana in india, water hyacinth, purple loosestrife, brazilian pepper, > lampreys in great lakes, burmese pythons iand african jewelfish in everglades, > nile perch in rift valley lakes, brown tree snake in guam, feral cats and > songbirds, cane toads........the list goes on and on. > Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry® > > -----Original Message----- > From: Esat Atikkan <[email protected]> > Sender: "Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news" > <[email protected]> > Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:51:41 > To: <[email protected]> > Reply-To: Esat Atikkan <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] EcoTone: Speaking of species and their origins > > Interesting points. > > At the same time alien/introduced/invasivespecies that truly alter an > environment, out compete others, and in general, lead to ecological mayhem - I > am not aware of any examples outside of, maybe, humans. > > There exists serious economics benefits to many in the realm of 'alien species > battles'. The lionfish, Pterois volitans and, possibly, P. miles, are a good > example. Even quasi-scientific articles continue to villify them, describing > their voracious appetites and ability to out-compete all native species. Yet > stomach anlysis fails to support those contentions. There is no question that > it has successfully established itself, do date from New Hampshire to > Colombia, > throughout the Caribbean and it would be a miracle if it is eradicated. But > significant ecological perturbation has yet to be proven. That does not stop > dive shops, REEF, and a plethora of other organizations from putting together > derbies, round-ups, and the like geared to the illusion that this is the way > to > eradicate the pest. It should be noted that all that organize such events > charge for it, thus deriving a benefit from the lionfish. In areas where > scuba > diving was waning, > the arrival of the lionfish has been a boost. > > Thus, despite the generally accepted view that eradication is near impossible, > it is turned into a cash cow - cash fish. > > Indeed a fresh assessment of this issue should be welcome as if it is accepted > that the 'Earth' is changing, why is it blieved the biota of the various > localities will remain unchanged. International trade, globailzation, and > like > activities are conducive to such introductions and it would be through such > new > thinking that the issue would receive a fresh understanding. > > Esat Atikkan > > > > > --- On Fri, 6/10/11, Judith S. Weis <[email protected]> wrote: > > > From: Judith S. Weis <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] EcoTone: Speaking of species and their origins > To: Date: Friday, June 10, 2011, 2:30 PM > > > IMHO, they are attacking a "straw man." I haven't seen many scientists, > managers, policy-makers etc. getting all worked up about non-indigenous > species who integrate well into the environment, get a green card, pay > their taxes etc. The ones that are being attacked and for which they are > spending lots of money are the truly invasive ones that cause ecological > and economic damage - eating up everything in sight, outcompeting native > species for food, space etc. - and generally taking over - affecting the > environment in negative ways. > > > > >> An essay published in the June 8 issue of Nature is causing something of a >> stir. Eighteen ecologists who signed the essay, titled "Don't judge >> species on their origins," "argue that conservationists should assess >> organisms based on their impact on the local environment, rather than >> simply whether they're native," as described in a recent Scientific >> American podcast. >> >> In the essay, Mark Davis from Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota and >> colleagues argue that adherence to the idea of non-natives as "the enemy" >> is more a reflection of "prejudice rather than solid science," wrote >> Brandon Keim in a Wired Science article. As the authors wrote, the >> "preoccupation with the native-alien dichotomy" among scientists, land >> managers and policy-makers is prohibitive to dynamic and pragmatic >> conservation and species management in a 21st century planet that is >> forever altered by climate change, land-use changes and other >> anthropogenic influences. As a result of this misguided preoccupation, >> claim the authors, time and resources are unnecessarily spent attempting >> to eradicate introduced species that actually turn out to be a boon to the >> environment; the authors cite the non-native tamarisk tree in the western >> U.S. as an example of this... >> >> Read more and comment at >> http://www.esa.org/esablog/ecologist-2/speaking-of-species-and-their-origins/ >> > > -- Malcolm L. McCallum Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! 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