How a 12-Year-Old Girl’s Science Project Changed the Way Scientists See Lionfish

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.care2.com/causes/how-a-12-year-old-girls-science-project-changed-the-way-scientists-see-lionfish.html

by Crystal ShepeardJuly 13, 20145:30 pm

Lauren Arrington was in the process of trying to figure out her sixth grade science project when she noticed a lionfish while fishing in the Loxahatchee River in south Florida. Lionfish had been spotted in Florida as early as 2010 and have since spread to many of its waters. Surprised to find it, the 12-year-old wanted to see if a dead lionfish’s spikes would still be venomous. Her father discouraged her from the idea, unwilling to be a human test subject. The daughter of two scientists began to wonder how the lionfish was surviving in the river and decided to do some investigating.

The results of her experiment would end up in a science journal and change the way scientists are dealing with a pervasive lionfish invasion in non-native waters.

A native of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the lionfish is relatively harmless in its natural habitat. Its prey consists of other marine animals in its environment. With a stomach that can expand to 30 times its normal volume, it can consume creatures that are up to half its body size and is only limited to prey that can fit into its mouth. Other species that include the lionfish as part of their diet include sharks, groupers, large eels and humans. The beauty of the lionfish’s long mane-like spikes makes it a favorite in exotic aquariums and belies their venomous nature.

For decades, however, the lionfish has been on a path of destruction pushing our earth’s waters to the brink of an ecological disaster.

FULL story at link.

[reddread]

1. Jesus, that is BAD news

I better get some of these beautiful predators before they become the next snakehead.

[A Little Weird]

2. Invasive species are taking over it seems

Too bad we (as a nation) don't want to spend money on the environment anymore.

Kudos to Lauren - it's a pretty impressive feat to be cited in published research at only 12 years old!

[Renew Deal]

3. She finished I third place?

What did the other two kids do to finish ahead?

[reddread]

7. first place was a volcano

second was how beans make you fart.

[Omaha Steve]

16. Didn't we already know...

About the magical fruit???

[reddread]

17. i would hope so, now explain my dog's problem with peanut BUTTer dog biscuits

[PeaceNikki]

18. I know, but she earned something far more valuable.

Being cited in multiple academic papers and literally helping the ecosystem is better than a damn blue ribbon.

[alarimer]

4. They are apparently really good to eat.

Many places have started encouraging people to fish for them, with tournaments and derbies, etc.

We can't get rid of them entirely at this point, but we can reduce the populations through consumption.

[malaise]

5. Individuals' right to import all kinds of crap have created more than a few disasters

for this region. All it takes is one good hurricane and all these so called 'pets' take over.
The Burmese python is another invasive species let loose after Hurricane Andrew. Lion fish are terrorizing us in the Caribbean sea.

[iscooterliberally]

6. The Burmese Python was let loose in the Everglades long before Andrew.

I grew up in South Florida. I saw a Burmese python near my neighborhood back in the 1980s. It's tail was in the center lane of a 3 lane road. The head was off on the shoulder of the road. It was well over 20 feet long. People would get them as pets, and then release them when they got too big. These problems have been going on for decades now. There are all sorts of other large snakes out in the Everglades that don't belong. I have even heard reports of Cobras too, but that's really rare. There are all kinds of reptiles running loose in South Florida that weren't here when I was a kid. Even looking in some of the canals you can see that many of the Brim have interbred with Oscars that people tossed out of their fish tanks. Thankfully piranhas have been illegal, or we would be in much worse shape. Florida will never be like it was in this regard. We have so many invasive species that it's hard to remember which ones are native sometimes.

[malaise]

9. Thanks for that

I was told that Andrew was the culprit.

[iscooterliberally]

12. Actually Andrew did release a lot of animals, but they were mostly birds from what I heard.

Most of the non-native species were released from the Miami Metro Zoo. The zoo used to have a huge bird aviary that was destroyed in the storm and all the birds got loose. We now have many Asian species of birds that reside in the Everglades. Anyway, Andrew was part of the problem, but the biggest part was probably the pet store business. Too many people with pets that they shouldn't really have in this environment. This isn't a problem so much up north were most of the species cannot survive. I heard one store about 3 or 4 years ago where people in Massachusetts found an alligator on the Charles river. Of course the alligator would not survive it's first winter up there. Nor would most of the other reptiles that run around down here.

[reddread]

8. individuals? Industry.

Individuals are given little or no rights to import anything they like.
Lionfish were nearly outlawed in the middle 70's.
Looks like they had a good idea at the time.
Industry protected itself.

[malaise]

11. True

[MohRokTah]

14. I hear Oscars are taking over the Everglades

South American cichlids of all types, actually:

[valerief]

10. Keeping them out in the first place would have required a "regulation" and we

all know those things are "bad".

[malaise]

13. +1,000

So we all suffer the consequences

[reddread]

15. well, to be honest, the proposed protections were during the early years of Carter/should I say Ford

http://www.thehsi.org/legislation/dwa/Effectiveness%20of%20DWA.pdf

certainly not enough can be said about the face of deregulation, GHWB, but
I think he was busy running the CIA and making deals for his family with China at the time.