Recently, DNA evidence by Notre Dame University scientists seems to confirm that Asian carp have breached the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ electrical fish barrier, which protects Lake Michigan from invasive species such as the Asian carp.

As a result of the recent evidence illustrating a possible barrier breach, an area of the Ship Canal was temporarily poisoned with rotenone. So far, after the poisoning of the Ship Canal, “none of the prolific two species of Asian carp, the Bighead carp and the Silver carp, have turned up in the huge fish kill that began overnight along 6 miles of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal southwest of the city.” However, the carp may already be in Lake Michigan, so the “barriers and the effort is too little, and, or too late.”

The Asian carp problem is also prompting legal action. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm wants Attorney General Mike Cox to “take legal action to try to close the Chicago shipping canal if other efforts to block the migration of Asian carp into Lake Michigan don’t work.”

Farmers originally used Asian carp to control overgrowth of aquatic weeds. However, the voracious carp “were introduced [by] southern fish farms more than 10 years ago [when] flooding sent the fish into the Mississippi River, where they have thrived and migrated northward, overtaking native fish along the way.” More from Reuters:

Along some stretches of the Illinois River, the carp make up 95 percent of the biomass and they are considered poor for eating or as a game fish. Silver carp, which leap into the air when disturbed by passing motorboats, have injured boaters.

Two electrical barriers in the canal were erected in 2002 and 2006 to shock any fish, particularly carp, that try to swim up the canal to Lake Michigan. The newer barrier is being switched off to perform maintenance on it.

To give themselves a window to complete the task and keep any carp at bay below the barrier, authorities dumped into the canal more than 2,000 pounds (900 kg) of the natural poison rotenone that prevents fish gills from absorbing oxygen.

The toxin, which is used as a broad-spectrum insecticide and pesticide, kills fish and freshwater snails but does not harm other animals. It dissipates within two days, though authorities planned to introduce a neutralizing agent to speed up the process.

Video: Fears mount over carp and Great Lakes

Video: Asian Carp Lake Invasions

Video: Granholm to Cox: stop the Asian carp

Video: Biologist Dr. Dan O’Keefe, a Michigan Sea Grant SW District Extention Educator, says it’s inevitable that Asian carp will breach electrical barrier and eventually reach Lake Michigan

Video: Wild Jumping Carp On Illinois River

UPDATE 1 (4 Dec. 09): Video: Bighead Asian carp found in Chicago

On the net:

1. Asian Carp Management
2. Asian Carp and the Great Lakes
3. Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Aquatic Nuisance Species Dispersal Barriers

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Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

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IMAGE: MrClean1982 on Flickr took this interesting and humorous shot of an American White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) from the Florida Everglades.

BREAK
A master agreement has been reached between the South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that puts the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan back on track. From MiamiHerald.com:

The “master agreement” details how the South Florida Water Management District and the Army Corps of Engineers will share costs and duties for 68 projects Congress approved in 2000 to restore the natural flow of the River of Grass.

Both sides hailed the agreement — reached when the Obama administration relented in a dispute over land values likely to shift as much as a half-billion dollars onto the federal ledger — as a breakthrough that should move restoration from talk to action.

.       .       .

Terrence “Rock” Salt, a deputy assistant secretary of the Army who oversees the Corps, said construction could begin within months, starting with reclamation of 55,000 acres in the Picayune Strand, site of a Southwest Florida development that flopped decades ago. The Corps has $41 million in stimulus funding for that job.

.       .       .

Over the next two years, the Obama administration has budgeted or is seeking congressional approval for almost a half-billion dollars to begin restoration projects, including ones to restore freshwater flows to Biscayne Bay coastal wetlands, overhaul the C-111 canal to keep more water in Everglades National Park and build a reservoir to bolster Broward County’s water supply and limit seepage from adjacent Everglades marshes.

Down the road, the agreement also could potentially open the door for federal help to complete Gov. Charlie Crist’s controversial $536 million deal to buy 73,000 acres from the U.S. Sugar Corp. and convert them to massive reservoirs and pollution-treatment marshes.

Meanwhile, Florida’s Burmese python problem continues to grow bigger and bigger—literally. From MiamiHerald.com:

Staff at the Okeechobee Veterinary Hospital routinely handle large animals. Along with pet dogs and cats, they treat hogs, horses, cows and bulls.

But the enormous critter that slithered uninvited onto the hospital grounds Thursday stunned everyone. It turned out to be one of the biggest Burmese pythons found roaming free in Florida.

The constrictor stretched 17 feet, two inches and measured 26 inches around at its thickest point. It weighed in at a staggering 207 pounds — four pounds more than the Miami Dolphins’ brawny No. 1 draft pick, Vontae Davis.

.       .       .

Florida wildlife managers pointed to the find as the latest, and largest, evidence that the exotic snake, which has settled into the Everglades, is spreading across the state.

“The capture of this large python shows us how well these snakes can thrive in the wild and create a dangerous situation after illegal release or escape,” said Rodney Barreto, chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “It also illustrates why the FWC is partnering with other agencies to implement python control measures in South Florida.”

Two weeks ago, the FWC began an experimental permit program that allows reptile experts to euthanize Burmese pythons on state-managed lands around the Everglades, where the population is now estimated to number in the tens of thousands.

But the python patrol didn’t bag the giant snake that made its way onto the hospital’s 20-acre compound.

.       .       .

Wildlife officers scanned for a microchip, required for pets under state law since 2007, but found nothing.

The images below show a Burmese python that was caught and killed by a South Florida Water Management District employee. The female python measured 16.2′ in total length and weighed 117-pounds with 59 large oviductal eggs, which were all fertile. The Burmese python images are credited to Skip Snow/Everglades National Park.

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Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

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To test the theory of whether “after several generations, [Burmese pythons] could eventually migrate to and flourish in as much as a third of the continental United States,” the Savannah River Ecology Lab in South Carolina is conducting a study to determine whether Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) can survive further north.

Currently, these massive constrictors have established a breeding population within the Florida Everglades—which is expected to spread northwards—and this invasion has been blamed on the pet trade. Burmese pythons grow very large, so their prey can be large, but younger snakes feed on smaller animals. As a result, the impact on Florida’s ecosystems is systemic.

At the moment, a bill is in the works to control destructive non-native species kept as pets. Recently, “a Florida toddler was strangled on Wednesday by a 12-foot (3.6-meter) albino Burmese python that escaped from a holding tank in the girl’s home.” From the Richmond Times Dispatch:

Water managers dispatched two experts to Washington recently to back a bill targeting an Everglades problem that seems to get bigger every year. The latest, largest evidence emerged in mid-May: a Burmese python stretching 16½ feet.

It is the longest yet of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of the exotic constrictors the South Florida Water Management District has pulled off its lands and levees in the past few years. More sobering: The female was pregnant, carrying a clutch of 59 eggs — more proof the giant snakes are breeding in the wild.

“These are not little snakes running around. These are massive, dangerous animals,” said district spokesman Randy Smith.

.       .       .

But at its first hearing in April, the bill ran into what a co-sponsor quipped was a “hornet’s nest of opposition” from pet owners, breeders, hobbyists and pet stores. They expressed outrage to lawmakers in telephone calls, e-mails and YouTube videos — including one titled “Pets in Peril, Politicians Gone Wild” — arguing that the legislation would bar the ownership of anything more exotic than a Doberman or a Siamese cat.

“One-third of our nation has non-native species as pets, and apart from dogs, cats and goldfish, which are exempt [in the bill], virtually every species in those homes falls under” the legislation, said Marshall Meyers, CEO of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council. The bill “could shut down major segments of the pet industry virtually overnight.”

Proponents, including a coalition of 15 major environmental organizations such as the National Audubon Society and the National Wildlife Federation, call the fears unjustified. They say the bill targets only species that pose a threat.

Still, some suggest the language in the bill is vague.

“There were some legitimate concerns, no one doubts that,” said Peter Jenkins, director of international conservation at Defenders of Wildlife. He notes that pet owners were alarmed when some animals — ferrets, gerbils, guinea pigs and others — weren’t named as species that would be exempt from the bill.

.       .       .

Biologists argue that more than 400 of the 1,300 species on the endangered-species list are at risk primarily because they compete with — or are targets of — invasive species.

As one of the largest snakes in the world, sometimes topping 20 feet, pythons potentially could challenge the natural dominant predators of the Everglades or other wild places — a concern illustrated in 2005 by the now-famous photos of a 13-foot python that exploded after swallowing a 6-foot alligator.

Water district spokesman Smith said the impact is obvious along the L-67 levee.

“You won’t find a rabbit down there anymore,” he said. “That’s the most noticeable effect. It [the snake] doesn’t seem to have any predators, and it preys on native wildlife.”

Image Found Here

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Blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) are an introduced species to the waters of the James River, and this commercial gamefish has “grown in numbers and size ever since state workers stocked them in the tidal James in the mid-1970s to give anglers a new challenge.”

BREAK

There are even fishing guides, such as “Got The Blues Guide Service,” for the James River, which provide an opportunity for anglers to catch their own monster James River blue catfish. Recently, a 102-pound blue was pulled from the waters of the James River. The current world record, approved by the International Game Fish Association, is a 124-pound monster blue catfish “caught in mid May [2005] by Tim Pruitt of Alton, Ill” in the Mississippi River. From the Los Angeles Times:

A 102-pound, 4-ounce blue catfish caught last week in Virginia may qualify as a new state record.

Tim Wilson was fishing with friend Danny Ayers on the James River south of Richmond when he caught the big cat on 30-pound test using cut shad as bait. The fish was so large it took both men to land it.

The behemoth is the first freshwater fish over 100 pounds caught in Virginia.

The previous record blue catfish in Virginia was this 95 lbs. 11 oz. behemoth taken from the James River:

On the Net:

1. Virginia State Record Fish
2. REEL BIG FISH: Giant catfish in India turn to preying on humans

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See the process in video:

Scientists are attempting to control fire ant populations with a particular species of phorid fly.

The fly’s utility lies in its method of reproduction: The fly injects its egg into an ant, then the larva migrates to the head where it feeds on “the brain and [turns] the ant into a ‘zombie,’ in some cases compelling the ant to march 55 yards (50 meters) away from its colony to avoid attack by other fire ants.” Finally, the fly hatches out of the ants head after “slurping up the brain.”  Certainly, this brings new meaning to the famous quote from “There Will Be Blood”—“I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!”

More images and information can be found at National Geographic.

Hat tip to Kevin.

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Invasive tropical fish spreading through the Everglades has been characterized as “10 times worse than the python [invasion], but it’s all under water, so nobody knows about it.”

During July 2008, “residents in a Pinellas County [Florida] subdivision found about 30 [walking] catfish” migrating to and from various waterways in their neighborhood:

Walking catfish use storm drains to migrate:

Walking catfish “swarm” an apartment complex:

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Invasive tropical fish spreading through the Everglades has been characterized as “10 times worse than the python [invasion], but it’s all under water, so nobody knows about it.”

Burmese pythons continue to reproduce and spread into suitable habitat throughout Florida, and the invasive population can continue to spread into suitable habitat further north outside of the sunny state—especially if climate change continues to increase northern temperatures (e.g., the plant hardiness zone map has shifted as northern temperatures warm; for example, “the Southern magnolia, once limited largely to growing zones ranging from Florida to Virginia, now can thrive as far north as Pennsylvania. Or that kiwis, long hardy only as far north as Oklahoma, now might give fruit in St. Louis.”)

Certainly, public education and awareness, in addition to new regulations are needed. Recently in California, “a 23-foot, 130-pound python was on the loose in a San Luis Obispo residential neighborhood for hours before the county sheriff’s search-and-rescue team located it sunbathing in a nearby backyard.” In Florida, the problem has become so serious that trained volunteers are needed to capture reptiles that are slithering out of the Everglades into residential areas. In order to learn how to capture the reptiles, which can inflict a painful bite, “a dozen mostly fearless students last week learned how to capture the enormous natives of Southeast Asia that have begun invading the Florida Keys.”

Furthermore, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) wants to “block sales to inexperienced pet owners, who in many cases have either released the snakes or let them escape when the creatures grew too large,” because the snakes are blamed for disrupting the already damaged Everglades ecosystem by competing with alligators and devouring endangered species. Certainly, snakes are efficient hunters, and it isn’t just the large snakes eating large prey that should be of concern, since juvenile pythons certainly have an impact on small animal populations. Increased conflicts between humans and the gigantic snakes will be another obvious problem too. At least these Burmese pythons don’t grow as large as some extinct “constrictors, [that weighed] more than a ton and [measured] 42 feet long.”

More on this topic from The Conservation Report:

1. INVASIVE SPECIES: 12-foot Burmese python found in Florida
2. INVASIVE SPECIES: Burmese pythons, an invasive species in south Florida, could spread to one third of United States
3. INVASIVE SPECIES: Invasive Burmese pythons spreading rapidly across Florida and populations could spread northwards into suitable climates

On the Net:

1. Everglades Burmese Python Project
2. USGS Maps Show Potential Non-Native Python Habitat Along Three U.S. Coasts
3. USGS Maps Show Potential Non Native Python Habitat Along 3 US Coasts
4. Python Invasion of U.S. Unlikely, New Study Says
5. Invasive Pythons Squeezing Florida Everglades

Image Found Here

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Environmental News Picks presents a summary of news regarding the environment, conservation, science, politics, and other interesting subject matter. The Conservation Report does not endorse any content found in these news picks, but the information is provided to put readers on notice of the various different beliefs and viewpoints. Comments, corrections, and suggestions are very much welcomed. Send your news tips and picks: .

AMAZON: Amazon Pollution Case Could Cost Chevron Billions

AMPHIBIAN EXTINCTIONS: Amphibian Extinctions: Is Global Warming Off the Hook?

ANIMAL WELFARE: Clinton’s Socks the Cat Near Death, Walruses Threatened by Shrinking Ice, Group Says

ART: 5 Amazing Cardboard Artists and Their Sculptures

BIOFUELS: Biofuel Plantations on Tropical Forestlands Are Bad for the Climate and Biodiversity, Study Finds

BIODIESEL: Multitasking canola: A California miracle crop?

BIODIVERSITY: Antarctica Has More Species Than Galapagos, First Comprehensive Inventory Of Antarctic Life Shows

BIRDS: Iceland Puffin Threatened, Developing Oil from Canadian Tar Sands Could Kill 160 Million Migratory Birds by 2038

CAPE WIND: Ted Kennedy Rebuffed: Mass. Wind Farm OKed, Wind Farm decision delayed again

CLIMATE CHANGE: Can the Climate Survive the Financial Crisis?: Just as the world gathers in Poland to come up with a new climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, the global financial meltdown threatens to torpedo the effort. But could a world recession actually help the climate?, Climate change experts ‘lose faith’ in renewable technology: Specialists less optimistic that wind, solar and hydro power have ‘high potential’ to solve climate crisis, survey shows, European Butterflies Threatened by Climate Change

COAL: Saboteur breezes in to shut 500MW turbine; Act single-handedly cuts UK carbon output by 2%, Oops…There’s Fly-Ash In The Clean Coal Ointment

CONSERVATION: 2009: ‘Year of the Gorilla’

CONSUMERISM: A Saner Cyber Monday

CORAL REEFS: New Deep-Sea Reefs Found With Sonar

CROSSBREEDING: The quagga, a zebra subspecies that is only partly striped, has been crossbred back into existence after a hundred years of extinction, scientists say.

ECO-FRIENDLY GIFTS: FSC-Certified Holiday Gift Guide

ECO-MYTH: Five Dire Green Myths Causing the Greatest Global Harm

ECOSYSTEM HEALTH: Biologists find new environmental threat in North American lakes

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla Motors Getting Some Cash, Germany Wants One Million Electric Cars on the Road by 2020, California To Become The Electric Vehicle Capital of the US, 4,000 Electric Vehicles To Be Leased by US Army

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Cheetah joins UN’s endangered species list, Study: California fish face extinction, Rare Lions Bred Successfully

ENERGY: Whole Foods’ canola oil isn’t just for cooking: It makes electricity, too: Reuse plan will power commissary that supplies 43 stores

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: Lawyers call for international court for the environment: A former chairman of the Bar Council is calling for an international court for the environment to punish states that fail to protect wildlife and prevent climate change.

EPA: Activists slam EPA decision on mining rule change

EVERGLADES: Opponents Mount Last Stand on Everglades Plan: Proposed $1.3 Billion Land Sale Unites Environmentalists and U.S. Sugar Executives, but Critics Allege It’s a Sweetheart Deal

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE: No electricity? Island now energy independent

EVOLUTION: Move Over, Christianists, A chart showing public acceptance of evolution in 34 countries, Bracing for Islamic Creationism

FISHERIES: EU faces battle over fish quotas: EU fisheries ministers have begun an annual round of talks to decide the quantities of fish which can be caught from Europe’s seas in 2009., Fishing leaders warn of difficult EU quota carve-up, EU argue for greater access to Irish fish, Brussels annual fish haggle begins

FUEL SPILL: Antarctic Cruise Ship Runs Aground; Oil Leak Spreading?

GLOBAL WARMING: Global warming is changing organic matter in soil, Turtle Egg-Laying Season Thrown Off by Warming

GREEN CONSTRUCTION: Strong, lightweight green material could replace concrete, but contains no cement

GREEN POLICY: ‘Now Is the Time for a Green New Deal’: With the world gathered in Poznan, Poland to work out a successor deal to the Kyoto Protocol, UN Environment Program Director Achim Steiner spoke with SPIEGEL ONLINE about sustainable transportation and the failures of the auto industry.

HIV/AIDS: Getting high on HIV drugs in S Africa: Anti-retroviral drugs used to treat HIV/Aids are being bought and smoked by teenagers in South Africa to get high., Discovery of virus in lemur could shed light on AIDS

INVASIVE SPECIES: Super-Ant Taking Over Europe, Invading Starfish Plague Reefs, Arthritis ‘killing’ Australia’s cane toads: It seems a bad back might be the only thing that can stop the relentless spread of Australia’s poisonous cane toads, which are killing native animals as they hop across the nation, researchers say.

LEGAL NEWS: Colo. man charged with libel over Craigslist posts

LOBBYING: Green Is the New Color of Lobbying: Makers of Energy-Saving Products See Opportunities in Big Stimulus Bill

MARINE MAMMALS: Whale song drowned by humans, Canada Ignores Rescue Option, Kills 500 Endangered Narwhals: The Canadian government opted last week to allow the killing 500 narwhals trapped beneath ice rather than calling in icebreakers to free the animals, claiming the process would have been too stressful for the whales.

MARINE MAMMAL STRANDINGS: Mass stranding: All whales found dead

MEDICINE: ‘Injectable bone’ helps fractures: A material that can be squirted into broken bones, where it hardens within minutes, has been developed by UK scientists.

NEW SPECIES: Green-blood and turquoise bones. Very unusual new species of frog discovered in Cambodia, New Bizarre Monkey Group Found, Thousands of New Species Discovered on Tiny Island

RECOMMENDED IMAGE: Our Atmosphere

RECOMMENDED WEBSITE: Earth View

RECOVERING SPECIES: Giant Prehistoric Fish Rebounding in Canada

RECYCLING: Recycling Manure Safely To Avoid Polluting Rivers and Streams: Researchers at North Wyke Research, and Lancaster and Exeter universities, have come up with an advice system to help farmers recycle manure safely and avoid polluting watercourses., Should we recycle urine on Earth, too?

RENEWABLE ENERGY: Race for Scotland’s $15 Million Marine Energy Prize Begins

OBAMA: Obama’s Science Team: 4 Top Members Named, Steven Chu: ‘Coal is My Worst Nightmare’, More on the case for Steven Chu at energy

POACHING: Poaching May Erase Elephants From Chad Wildlife Park

POVERTY: The Infuriating New Face Of Poverty

PUBLIC LANDS: Conservation Coalition Protests Utah BLM Lease Auction: 100,000 Acres of Public Land for Oil and Gas Development

SCIENCE: Scientists film inner workings of the immune system: Forget what’s number one at the box office this week. The most exciting new film features the intricate workings of the body, filmed by scientists using ground-breaking technology.

SHARKS: Shark pregnancy baffles aquarium, ‘Virgin Birth’ By Shark Confirmed: Second Case Ever: Scientists have confirmed the second-ever case of a “virgin birth” in a shark, indicating once again that female sharks can reproduce without mating and raising the possibility that many female sharks have this incredible capacity.

SOLAR: World’s most efficient solar cells created, Near Barcelona, Spain, a large solar power plant is in an unlikely location: a cemetery., Los Angeles Unveils World’s Largest Solar Plan

T. BOONE PICKENS: Pickens Plan Reality Check: Energy Freedom or Farce?

TRAFFIC: New York City Grew, but Traffic Didn’t: As the city’s economy soared and its population grew from 2003 through 2007, something unusual was happening on the streets and in the subway tunnels.

WATER AVAILABILITY: LIFESAVER: World’s First Ultra Filtration Water Bottle, LifeStraw

WHALING: Japan Plans to Arrest Sea Shepherd Crew

WIND POWER: Offshore Wind Power Could Alter Ocean Currents, New Wind Turbine Design Good for Rural, Urban Environment

“Environmental News Picks” are made possible with help from Kevin.

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IMAGES:  The first image shows a broken-rays mussel (Lampsilis reeveiana) with its fish lure.  The actual prey species it mimics is shown in the image as well.  The middle image shows a tiny juvenile mussel (tiny juvenile mussels are often called spat, as are other juvenile bivalve species such as oysters and scallops, but the tiny juvenile mussels released by female freshwater mussels that attach to a host are called glochidia) attached to the gill of its host.  The last image illustrates the destruction caused by zebra mussels.  These zebra mussels are attached to a native freshwater mussel species.  Invasive species such as the zebra mussel can have damaging impacts on native ecosystems and species.

BLANK
Freshwater mussels or freshwater clams are some of the most fascinating aquatic creatures.  They are typically found in freshwater streams and rivers throughout the United States. However, these creeks, rivers, and streams—particularly those associated with mountains—are some of the most sensitive ecosystems, and the aquatic creatures inhabiting these environments depend on clean, clear, and oxygenated water. As a result, many species inhabiting these clear waters, including freshwater mussels, are considered canaries in the coal mine or indicator species.  The condition of these mussels—good or bad—reflects the health of the aquatic ecosystem they inhabit.

As a result of human activities, many species of freshwater mussels are endangered or threatened with extinction. Threats include “dams and impoundment, channelization and dredging, pollution, sedimentation, fish kills that eliminate potential host fish, and introduction of non-native species.”

Invasive species such as zebra mussels are of a special concern, because zebra mussels aggressively take over habitat needed for native mussels.  Zebra mussels will even attach themselves to native mussel species or other aquatic creatures such as crayfish.

It is important to protect freshwater mussels, because they are essential to the health of aquatic ecosystems, since they act as natural filtration systems.  Imagine the cumulative effect of thousands of mussels constantly siphoning particulates from the water column.

Conservation measures such as building public awareness, listing some species as endangered or threatened, and supplementing depleted mussel populations via captive breeding programs are happening.  However, some species of freshwater mussel are difficult to reproduce in captivity, because of their peculiar reproductive cycle.

Freshwater mussels use specially modified tissue to mimic a certain species of baitfish, which is the favorite prey of their targeted host.  The female mussel flaps this specially modified tissue in the current to attract fish.  Once an attracted fish nibbles the tissue, minute juvenile mussels or glochidia are simultaneously released into the water column, and the lucky juvenile mussels attach themselves to the gills of their host fish.  After a period of time—depending on the water temperature—the mussels, having been nourished with oxygen and nutrients by attaching to the fish’s gills, fall off onto the substrate.  Some species of freshwater mussel are difficult to reproduce in captivity, because some species seem to be particular to a certain species of fish.  Subsequently, the correct host species needed to reproduce some freshwater mussels is unknown.

VIDEO: Endangered Mussels

POSTER: Life Cycle of the Freshwater Mussel

POSTER: The Zebra Mussel

On the Net:
Freshwater Mussels of the Upper Mississippi River System

See more Weird And Fascinating Creatures

Image information:

1. The image showing a broken-rays mussel (Lampsilis reeveiana) with its fish lure is by Chris Barnhart, and the image was found here.
2. the image showing a freshwater mussel attached to a host’s gill is by Roger Gordon of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the image was found here.
3. The image of zebra mussels covering a native species of mussel known as the fat mucket (Lampsilis siliquoidea) is by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and the image was found here.
4. The poster showing the life cycle of the freshwater mussel was found here.
5. The zebra mussel poster was found here.

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Here are some very interesting science news picks from one of my favorite science news sites—ScienceDaily—that I’ve recently read and want to share with you.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Forests May Play Overlooked Role In Regulating Climate, Second Warmest October For Global Temperatures, NOAA Says, Global Warming Predictions Are Overestimated, Suggests Study On Black Carbon

EVOLUTION: Discovery Of Giant Roaming Deep Sea Protist Provides New Perspective On Animal Evolution, Flies May Reveal Evolutionary Step To Live Birth

GREEN CONSTRUCTION: Dangers Of Going Green: Industrial Hygienists Suggest Watching Out For Mold When Going Green

INVASIVE SPECIES: Earthworms’ Underground Invasion Threatens Forest Sustainability

MATHEMATICS: Mathematicians And Artists Use Algorithms To Make Complicated Paper Sculptures

POLLUTION: Polymer Sponge Catches Household Pollutants in Storm Drains

RENEWABLE ENERGY: ‘Fish Technology’ Draws Renewable Energy From Slow Water Currents

RFID CHIPS: RFID Chips: A Privacy And Security Pandora’s Box?

SEA LEVEL RISE: Sea Level Rise Alters Chesapeake Bay’s Salinity

SPACE: Strangulation Of Spiral Galaxies: ‘Missing Link’ Discovered, Hubble Captures Outstanding View Of Mammoth Stars, Mars Express Observes Aurora On The Red Planet, Mystery Of Missing Hydrogen: Apparent Absence From Distant Galaxies Puzzles Astronomers

WATER QUALITY: Environmental Scientists Use Fish Behavior To Monitor Water Quality

WETLANDS: Value Of Satellites Recognized For Conserving Wetlands

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The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), a type of salamander, is a critically endangered amphibian endemic to central Mexico. This species is a “paedomorphic species, living permanently in water, and does not undergo complete metamorphosis,” so the gills are retained into its adult life. The axolotl is declining due to competition, disease transmission, and predation from introduced species, in addition to overfishing, pollution, and urbanization. Captive populations do exist, since “the species is used in physiological and biomedical research, as well as in the pet trade, but the re-introduction of captive-bred axolotls is not recommended until threats can be mitigated, and disease and genetic risks to the wild populations assessed.” From the Dallas Morning News, TX:

The axolotl, also known as the “water monster” and the “Mexican walking fish,” is a key part of Aztec legend and diet. Against all odds, it survived amid Mexico City’s urban sprawl in the polluted canals of Lake Xochimilco.

But scientists are racing to save the foot-long salamander from extinction, a victim of the draining of its lake habitat and deteriorating water quality. And nonnative fish introduced into the canals are eating its lunch and its babies.

Researchers say the axolotl could disappear in five years.

“If the axolotl disappears, it would not only be a great loss to biodiversity but to Mexican culture, and would reflect the degeneration of a once-great lake system,” biologist Luis Zambrano said.

The number of axolotls (pronounced ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) is not known. But the population has dropped from roughly 1,500 per square mile in 1998 to a mere 25 per square mile, according to a survey using casting nets.

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Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

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ALGAE-BASED FUEL: Colorado Company Takes Algae-Based Fuel to the Next Level

ANIMAL WELFARE: Activists Throw Flour On Fur-Clad Lindsay Lohan

ASTRONOMY: Sun Shows Signs Of Life: Long-Awaited Solar Cycle 24 Starting To Take Off, Cassini Finds Mysterious New Aurora On Saturn, NASA: A Bubble in Cygnus

AUTO INDUSTRY: Reasons to Bail Out GM, Here’s Why We Need A General Motors (GM) Bailout, You F***er

BALLOT INITIATIVES: Mixed Bag for State Environmental Ballot Initiatives

BIG OIL: In secret agreement, Shell nets 25-year monopoly on S. Iraq’s gas, Blow to Brown as BP scraps British renewables plan to focus on US

CHERNOBYL: Chernobyl. 21 years later

CLIMATE CHANGE: Impact Of Climate Warming On Fish: International consensus on the reality of climate change is now apparent: global warming is ascribable in large part to human activities. It is causing rapid deterioration of the environment and is increasing the threat to biodiversity. However, the mechanisms of its impact are still poorly known, particularly in the aquatic environment., Warming Trend Is Steepest in 5,000 Years, Canada Offers Continental Climate Pact, Lemming Numbers Dwindling Under Warming

CLONING: Frozen mice cloned – are woolly mammoths next?

COAL: EPA Blocks Coal Plant, Could Change Power Landscape

DIESEL ELECTRIC HYBRID: Hybrid tugboat may give local ports a green push

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Water restrictions ordered to help California fish

ENERGY MIX OF THE FUTURE: How Floating ‘Energy Islands’ Could Power the Future

FOSSILS: Marine Plankton Found In Amber: Marine microorganisms have been found in amber dating from the middle of the Cretaceous period. The fossils were collected in Charente, in France. This completely unexpected discovery will deepen our understanding of these lost marine species as well as providing precious data about the coastal environment of Western France during the Cretaceous.

FUNGAS-BASED FUEL: Microbes: Fuel of the Future?, Rainforest fungus makes diesel: Colorized environmental scanning electron microscope photo of Gliocladium roseum, an endophtic fungus that produces myco-diesel hydrocarbons.

FUEL EFFICIENCY STANDARDS: New York City’s Green Taxi Program Red Lighted By Federal Judge:

GREEN: Best of what is new in green technology 2008, In Times Square, a Company’s Name in (Wind- and Solar-Powered) Lights: The first eco-friendly billboard is coming to Times Square, entirely powered by the sun and the wind — but there is one small catch.

GREEN CONSTRUCTION: 10 Amazing Buildings Made of Dirt and Straw

HIV/AIDS: AIDS Patient Reportedly Cured, T Cell-based HIV Vaccine Candidate Demonstrates Positive Results: The question of whether or not to continue to pursue the development of T-cell-based HIV-1 vaccines has been a source of controversy following last year’s widely publicized failure of the field’s most promising candidate, a vaccine developed by Merck known as V520.

INAUGURATION TICKETS: It’s time to plan your inauguration trip: Festivities could last 10 days, but hotel rooms, flights to D.C. will be scarce

INVASIVE SPECIES: Scientists: Reverse Age-Old Engineering Or The Great Lakes Suffer

LED LIGHTS: Would You Buy This Funny-Looking Bulb?

LIGHT POLLUTION: Efficiency’s Mark: City Glitters a Little Less: The bright lights of the big city are getting a little bit duller — with just a hint of green.

MARINE CONSERVATION: Sea Snakes Seek Out Freshwater To Slake Thirst

MARINE MAMMALS: Killer Whales Are Discriminating Diners

NATURAL GAS: Does Natural Gas Have an Ally in Rahm Emanuel?

NATURE: Venom Hunt Finds ‘Harmless’ Snakes A Potential Danger, Tiny Radio Tags Offer Rare Glimpse into Bees’ Universe

NANOWASTE: Plants Can Accumulate Nanoparticles In Tissues

NUCLEARIZATION OF ENERGY SOURCES: Mini nuclear plants to power 20,000 homes: £13m shed-size reactors will be delivered by lorry

OCEANS: Mysterious Microbe May Play Important Role In Ocean Ecology: An unusual microorganism discovered in the open ocean may force scientists to rethink their understanding of how carbon and nitrogen cycle through ocean ecosystems., Elusive Microbe Fertilizes Oceans

PESTICIDES: Organic Farmer Murdered After Protesting Toxic Dumpsite: An Indian organic farmer and anti-pollution advocate was shot to death on Monday while in the midst of exposing an illegal dumpsite on his property to the media.

PIRATES: Somali Pirates Seize Supertanker Loaded With Crude

POLITICS: Prop 8 Myths, Fox’s Shepard Smith Disputes Idea That The Media Secured Win For Obama, Senate Dems To White House: Preserve Records (Especially You, Cheney)

POLL: Should Cape Wind be built?

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: California gives green light to high-speed train

RECLAIMED OR RECYCLED WATER: NASA astronauts to drink their own urine: As NASA prepared to double the number of astronauts living aboard the International Space Station, nothing did more for crew bonding than a machine being launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on Friday.

RECYCLING: Eat & Drink from Recycled Bottles, Recycling By the Numbers: The Truth About Recycling: Americans haul 82 million tons of trash to recycling centers each year—but that’s still just 32.5 percent of what we throw out. Here’s how much energy recycling saves and how much that’s worth., Is Recycling Worth It? PM Investigates its Economic and Environmental Impact: Americans haul 82 million tons of trash to recycling centers each year. But does it pay off—for the environment or the economy? PM has some real answers.

SCIENCE: New Path Found To Antibiotics In Dirt, Forced Evolution: Can We Mutate Viruses To Death?, Mystery solved: How bleach kills germs, Octopus Family Tree Traced Using New Molecular Evidence, Rock-Eating Bacteria “Mine” Valuable Metals

SEA LEVEL RISE: Mass Relocations Planned as Sea Levels Rise

SOLAR: Mid-East’s Largest Solar Panel Manufacturing Plant to be Built In Dubai, Coating helps solar panels soak up more of the sun

THE MEGAFISHES PROJECT: Giant Prehistoric Fish Rebounding in Canada

WATER POLLUTION: Freshwater Pollution Costs US At Least $4.3 Billion A Year: Pollution by phosphorous and nitrogen isn’t just bad for lakes, streams and other bodies of fresh water. According to researchers at Kansas State University, it’s also bad for Americans’ pocketbooks., Thousands of factory farms will be exempt from needing permits that limit water pollution thanks to a new Bush Administration rule signed today. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency did not adopt improved controls for bacteria and other pathogens that can pose risks to human health and wildlife.

WATER WARS: Atlas of hidden water may avert future conflict

WIND POWER: Pickens Delays His Wind Farm Plan, Largest Wind Farm in World Halted By Credit Crisis, Wind power blights la belle France

YEAR OF THE FROG: Global Warming Link To Amphibian Declines In Doubt

ZOOLOGICAL CONSERVATION: 90 Year-Old Giant Tortoise Mates, Lonesome George, the World’s Rarest Tortoise, Isn’t Ready to Be a Dad, Breeding program may fail to produce progeny for Galapagos’ Lonesome George, VIDEO: Last Tortoise’s Hopes Dim

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In terms of cost to tax payers and conflicts with humans, Burmese pythons are going to become a big problem for Florida. It’s very irresponsible for pet owners to release their non-native pets outdoors—or any pet for that matter.

Theoretically, it is possible for these large constrictors to spread further north out of Florida, since habitat suitability extends much further north. Warming temperatures as the result of anthropogenic climate change is expected to exacerbate the problem.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had used “Non-native Pet Amnesty Day” to take custody of unwanted non-native wildlife. It’s one of many tools Florida biologists are employing to bring the Burmese python plague under control. From the Sun-Sentinel.com:

The 12-foot non-venomous snake was caught by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers on Indiantown Road near Sierra Square Plaza late Monday night.

The snake appeared to be injured and may have been hit by a car, commission spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro said.

It was taken to Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter.

Releasing a Burmese python, a non-native species, is illegal because it can prey on native wildlife, Ferraro said.

Such pythons also are classified as “reptiles of concern” by the commission. Owners must have a permit and pay an annual fee of $100.

People may surrender their unwanted nonnative pets free of charge, no questions asked, during FWC’s pet amnesty days.

Read more about invasive Burmese pythons in Florida here.

On the Net:

1. Non-native Pet Amnesty Day
2. News Release: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission holds Non-native Pet Amnesty Day
3. Non-native Species Information

Image by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found here.

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AGRICULTURE: Amazon Rain Forest’s Untapped Fruit Bounty

AIR POLLUTION: 35W sculptures aren’t just for looks: Cemstone became the first company in the nation to use a new form of concrete that removes carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides and sulfur dioxide from the atmosphere.

CLIMATE CHANGE: A baaa-d idea? Aussie sheep made to wear gas masks so scientists can see how their breath can affect climate

CONSERVATION: Colorado tests high tech roadkill prevention system

CORAL REEFS: Florida Town Wants to Grow Coral Reefs with Electricity: As coral reefs around the world continue to disappear, one Florida town has taken the initiative by investing $60,000 to stimulate coral reef growth using electricity. While there is not yet peer-reviewed evidence to suggest that using a low powered electrical current works, scientists are not dismissing the idea. The company that has been hired to make the reefs claims that they have had many prior successes.

DINOSAURS: Site thought to be a watering hole discovered on Arizona-Utah border where dinosaurs ‘were happy’

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Texas Teen Builds His Own Electric Car on $10,000 Budget, Johnson Controls: electric cars will eventually win out, Berlin Announces Plans for World’s Largest Community Electric Car Infrastructure, Oreva Super Electric Car Going for $2000 in India

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Government May Weaken Endangered Species Act For Fish, IUCN Reveals That 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth Are Threatened with Extinction: The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List reveals world’s mammals in crisis

ENERGY: Can Electricity From Trees Power Gadgets?

ENVIRONMENTALISM: Do environmental messages do more harm than good?

EVOLUTION: Scientists Discover Fish in Act of Evolution in Africa’s Greatest Lake

FUEL SPILL: Hurricane Ike Spilled 12,000 Barrels of Oil: Is Offshore Oil Worth the Risk?

FUNDAMENTALS OF OUR ECONOMY: You Buy, You Break At Sarah’s Smash Shack

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: Geothermal Sources Could Add Significant Power Generation Capacity

GLOBAL WARMING: Memos tell wildlife officials to ignore global-warming impact: New legal memos by top Bush administration officials say that the Endangered Species Act can’t be used to protect animals and their habitats from climate change by regulating specific sources of greenhouse gas emissions, the cause of global warming.

GREEN: How green is Apple now?

GREEN CONSTRUCTION: 15 Inspiring Glimpses into the Future of Green Housing

HABITAT DEGRADATION, LOSS, & FRAGMENTATION: Chimps 90 Percent Gone in a “Final Stronghold”

HOMOSEXUALITY IS NATURAL: How gay sex can produce offspring

HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: 2010 Toyota Prius Adds Muscle at Expense of Fuel Efficiency: Toyota’s yet-to-be-unveiled 2010 Prius will have a bigger engine and a higher top speed, but improvements to CO2 emissions and fuel efficiency will take a backseat, Honda Takes on the Hybrid Motorcycle

HYDROGEN FUEL: Scientists Reach Hydrogen Storage Milestone

INVASIVE SPECIES: Aquatic alien ‘thugs’ set to meet

MARINE MAMMALS: Picture is Worth a Thousand…

NATURE: Planet’s loneliest bug revealed: A bug which lives entirely on its own and survives without oxygen in complete darkness underground has been discovered in South Africa, Deepest-Ever Fish Caught Alive on Camera

OBAMA: Racist Obama Billboard Causes Outrage, Man shot three times in street by racist gunman – for wearing Barack Obama T-shirt

OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION: Lockheed Martin to Develop Ocean Thermal Energy Prototype

OFFSHORE DRILLING: Making America Stupid

PLANET EARTH: Birth of an Ocean: The Evolution of Ethiopia’s Afar Depression: Formation of an ocean is a rare event, one few scientists have ever witnessed. Yet this geophysical nativity is unfolding today in one of the hottest and most inhospitable corners of the globe. Visit the site in safety through this extraordinary photographic essay

RECYCLING: Real Simple Recycling A to Z: A Comprehensive Primer on Recycling Nearly Everything, Often for a Good Cause, 7 Hurdles to Electronics Recycling

SARAH PALIN: Sarah Palin: Palling Around With Secessionists

SOCIAL ISSUES: Homeless numbers ‘alarming’

SOLAR: Solar Power Replaces Human Toil in New Rickshaws, Solar Wineries Taking Root and Coming into Bloom

TOXIC CHEMICALS: Adding the ‘Nasty Nine’ to the ‘Dirty Dozen’: The United Nations Considers Expanding Toxic Chemical Ban by 75%, Heavy Metal-Eating “Superworms” Unearthed in U.K.

WATER CONSERVATION: Caroma Profile Smart Dual Flush Toilet: 2008 Breakthrough Product

WIND POWER: Taiwan students invent wind-powered bicycle headlights, Navy charters kite-powered cargo ship to deliver equipment, Huge Offshore Wind Farm Wins Approval

WTF?: Cheney: Wildlife Conservation Has Been A ‘High Priority’ Of Bush Administration