Invasive turtles are wreaking havoc in New York City - National Geographic

Invasive turtles are wreaking havoc in New York City - National Geographic

Invasive turtles are wreaking havoc in New York City - National Geographic

Posted: 21 Feb 2020 03:00 AM PST

Bright green and viscous, Morningside Pond looks like a vat of unappealing pea soup. Styrofoam cups and plastic bags cling to the pond's edge, bound in place by bubbles of green foam. This is, perhaps, what's to be expected of an artificial pond in the center of a New York City park.Still, there is life here. A stream flows over the exposed bedrock opposite the pond's benches, and a few weeping willows bend toward the shore. And then there's the row of nearly a hundred turtles lined up along the pond's edge, glistening in the springtime sun.These are red-eared sliders, the most popular turtle in the American pet trade. Native to Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico, they're bred by turtle farmers on an industrial scale and sold wholesale to pet retailers. More than 52 million red-eared sliders were legally exported from the United States between 1989 and 1997, many of them to China, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Many more are sold illegally through a network of pet shops, street vendors, and websites.Red-eared sliders—so named for the brilliant red marks on their heads that look like ears—are consistently designated one of the world's hundred worst invasive species by the IUCN. When pet owners realize the reptiles require large tanks and expensive filtration systems, and can live up to 50 years, they often dump them outside. (Read why you should never release exotic pets into the wild.)Indeed, up to 90 percent of the sliders in this pond—the vast majority of which are hidden beneath the murky water—are likely former pets, says Allen Salzberg, publisher of the HerpDigest Newsletter and longtime member of the nonprofit New York Turtle and Tortoise Society.But these abandoned pets are becoming a major nuisance to New York City's urban ecosystem—crowding out native turtle species, creating harmful algal blooms in local waterways, and possibly exposing humans to salmonella.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post

This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post Posted: 05 Jun 2016 12:00 AM PDT With exacting precision, the surgeon inserted the scalpel above the eyeball and cut out a snotty deposit of fatty tissue. The routine eye-lift was nearly complete when suddenly the patient awoke, suffocating, and began to flop about on the table. The audience gasped. Knowing time was of the essence, the surgeon scooped up the patient in his arms, raced across the stage, and dropped her into a tank of water. She revived. Because she was a fish. Yes, fish eye-lifts exist. As do fin jobs and tail tucks. The operating theater was a mall in Jakarta, Indonesia, where a pet expo was under way. As for the patient, she survived, her formerly droopy eyes now bright and perky. A good thing, too, as this was no ordinary goldfish but rather an Asian arowana, the world's most expensive aquarium denizen, rumored to sell for as mu...
Read more

Catching Dory: selling aquarium fish supports coastal livelihoods in Indonesia | npj Ocean Sustainability - Nature.com

Image
Abstract The global marine aquarium trade has created new local markets across the planet, including in Indonesia, now the second-largest exporting country of marine aquarium fish in the world. Participating in the global aquarium trade has been touted as a potentially sustainable addition to fisher livelihoods, but scant data exist showing the numbers of fish coming off the reef and how those fish contribute to income. To determine how participants in the trade incorporate aquarium species in their livelihoods, we examine source-level aquarium fish collecting and trading data in the Banggai Archipelago, a region in Central Sulawesi that has become a significant source for popular aquarium, also known as ornamental, fish species. Using a sustainable livelihoods lens, we examine this data to understand how participants in the aquarium trade both contribute to as well as benefit from the trade and consider how their participation relates to emerging Blue Justice principles. From one year...
Read more

Discover the Top 12 Most Expensive Types of Betta Fish - AZ Animals

Image
Did you know you can spend thousands of dollars on an extra fancy Betta fish? These little aquatic friends also known as Siamese Fighting Fish may only live two to five years, but their short lifespan means little regarding their worth. Fish hobbyists love intriguing and rare colors of fish, and betta fish enthusiasts are no different. Siamese fighting fish are native to Southeast Asia's 75-80°F (23-27°C) waters. You can find them in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam freshwaters. The males are flamboyantly colored with big billowing tails, giving them a magical, elegant look. They gracefully swim in their tanks, providing a splash of beauty and color in the homes of millions of people worldwide. Though betta fish are relatively easy to care for, they are also not the simplest, so be sure to do all your research before adding these beautiful fish to your aquarium. An overview of the 12 Most Expensive Types of Betta Fish. 1. True Purple Betta The rar...
Read more