The Nature of Things

This is the time of year when gardeners are considering new plants to be added to their landscapes. Often, they may take a stroll through their local garden center, checking out what is there and thinking about how it would look in their own yard. It is at this point that many may be misled into purchasing a plant based only on its looks and characteristics without being aware of its impact on the overall environment. For the truth is there are many perfectly lovely plants that you can find at garden centers that should never be brought home and given a place in your garden.  These are non-native plants that can become invasive and overrun an area because the enemies that kept them in control in their native environment do not exist here. Just ask anyone from the southern United States about kudzu, a Japanese vine that was introduced to this country in 1876. There is a good reason why kudzu is called "the vine that ate the South."  In spite of all the publicity in recent year...

This post originally appeared in my Backyard Birder blog on January 31, 2012. Since that time, the problem that it reports about has only gotten worse. *~*~*~*    There are  several stories in the news today  about a recently released scientific study on the impact of an invasive species, the Burmese python, on Florida's wildlife. The study focuses on the Everglades and on the devastation of the small mammal population there. There are areas where raccoons, o'possums, rabbits, foxes, even bobcats, and other small mammals have virtually disappeared as a result of the introduction of these big snakes. The snakes also prey on reptiles and, to some extent, birds, but their preferred prey is mammals. Pythons probably   first got into the wild after being released by pet owners  when the snakes got too big for them to deal with, but natural disasters such as hurricanes have also played a part when pet stores that had sold the snakes were destroyed and animals es...

The deep freeze that has hit virtually all parts of the southern United States over the last several days has wreaked havoc on the citrus crop in Florida. It has also caused a lot of misery for wildlife in the area that is not used to such cold temperatures. That's not all bad though. Florida has been a fertile ground for the growth and expansion of invasive species. Two members of the reptile family in particular have caused great concern in recent years - the iguana which can sometimes grow up to six feet long and the Burmese python which can reach lengths of 20 feet and pose a threat not only to wildlife but to domestic pets and to humans. The state's wildlife service has been working to trap and euthanize these potentially dangerous animals. The cold has suddenly made their jobs a lot easier. The cold temperatures cause the iguanas to become torpid and fall out of the trees they have climbed. They can then be picked up and euthanized. The pythons as well go into an al...