| Radio programs for the week of 15 May 2000 (fe00515 - fe00519) | For more
information:
USGS Scientists find new population of Asian Swamp Eels in Florida |
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Bracing for the Asian Swamp Eel I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. A new invader is making a home in south Florida and scientists are concerned that the Asian Swamp Eel -- discovered recently near both Tampa and Miami -- could pose a serious problem for Florida wildlife (John Curnutt, Research Ecologist, Biological Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey)... "It's a disgusting looking thing, actually." John Curnutt is a research ecologist... "It has no fins, it has almost no characteristics at all. It's like a big slimy worm with two tiny little eyes and kind of a v-shaped mouth." First discovered in Florida last year, the Asian Swamp Eel has no natural enemies, and nobody has figured out how to control their spread... "They can come here and then once they become established, they're taking advantage of resources in a way that hasn't been designed as part of the ecosystem." And there's particular concern about the eel's possible spread to the Everglades, and harm it could bring to wildlife there... "The Swamp Eel is different in that in can live in these areas that dry down... in marshes and areas like the Everglades." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
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 fe00516Tracking the Asian Swamp Eel I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. Scientists are concerned about a new predator invading Florida. Called the Asian Swamp Eel, it has no known enemies, and efforts at controlling it have failed. Now found in Florida, the nation's first sighting was at a nature center in Georgia (John Curnutt, Research Ecologist, Biological Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey)... "Some school kids apparently went to this nature center all the time and would dip for fish, and they were catching these things like crazy. And nobody knew what they were." John Curnutt is a research ecologist, studying the Asian Swamp Eel... "Eventually, a fisheries biologist happened there and was fooling around and dug up one of these things and he couldn't figure out what it was and actually had to look it up and found out it was this Asian Swamp Eel." The swamp Eel is a predator that may survive better in Florida's swamps than Florida's natural swamp wildlife. And now that the eel has been found in Florida, there's concern it might prosper in the Everglades, to the peril of native wildlife... "It showed up near Tampa in a greatly modified river. Then it showed up again in Miami, in a canal. And for the third time in Florida, it showed up in canals right next to the Everglades... Everglades National Park." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
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| fe00517 A new predator in Florida I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. Scientists are the watching the Everglades for any sign of the Asian Swamp Eel, a new predator that has invaded Florida, and one that might survive better in Florida's swamps than our native wildlife... Research Ecologist John Curnutt is one of those watching (John Curnutt, Research Ecologist, Biological Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey)... "We're terribly afraid that if this thing does get into the Everglades marsh system -- it's 10,000 square kilometers of marshes -- it'll be able to survive through that kind of pulsed hydroperiod that the Everglades is famous for. Whereas the other fish couldn't." And by surviving in the mud through the dry season, the swamp eel would be able to prey on fish populations that only spring back when the wet season waters return... "If that fish population should be affected by the eel, we could see some kind of cascading effect all the way up to wading birds." At present, the Asian Swamp Eel has been spotted in Georgia, and in Florida near Tampa and Miami. Too close for comfort for Florida's Everglades... "Now we're going to be introducing a large predator into a system that -- other than alligators -- doesn't really have a large predator in it." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
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| fe00518 There's no stopping a new predator I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. There's a new predatory animal that has invaded Florida, and scientists are very concerned. Previously only found in Asia, the Asian Swamp Eel has now been found in Georgia and in three Florida locations. It is anticipated as a serious threat to Florida wildlife (John Curnutt, Research Ecologist, Biological Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey)... "We haven't yet found a good way to stop them." John Curnutt is a research ecologist. He says one of the problems in controlling the invading eel is its lack of an air bladder that would let scientists manage it like they do fish... "It can breathe air, so controls like Rotenone, which is always used to control fish populations, won't work on the eel because that effects their gills." And while some invading plants and animals can be managed naturally, the Asian Swamp Eel has no known predators, and is likely to thrive in the climate... "You know, a lot of tropical things in South Florida, they can't really persist in cold weather, and a frost would kill them off. This thing can go... well it's already in Georgia, and it lives pretty far north in China, so I suspect the climate won't be that much of a problem." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
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| fe00519 A new exotic threat I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. Though they're not sure, scientists say there is a likely reason for a new predator invading Florida. The animal is an Asian Swamp Eel, now found wild in three Florida locations. That troubles research ecologist John Curnutt who says they likely got here, with human help (John Curnutt, Research Ecologist, Biological Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey)... "The usual causes are things like aquarium releases, people have them as pets and they don't want them anymore. Or fish farming where there are outside pits that people grow fish in and they flood or break out or whatever." The Swamp Eel is one of many invaders who -- with human help -- have made a new home in Florida... "The Swamp Eel is now... it's the latest craze. And before that it was Fire Ants, and before that it was Killer Bees and before that it was Zebra Mussels from up in the Great Lakes." Scientists hope that by drawing attention to this newest invading species, Floridians might realize the role we play... "Dumping things into the wild -- because you're too kind-hearted to flush them down the toilet or do whatever with them -- you could be causing severe ecological and economic damage. And we have to be responsible with what we do." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
