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Invasive species are no joke. Sure this reaction seems overboard and bizarre enough to be newsworthy but that shouldn't delegitimize the importance of strict bi

Invasive species are no joke. Sure this reaction seems overboard and bizarre enough to be newsworthy but that shouldn't delegitimize the importance of strict biocontrol.

missedthecue 6y ago
Can pigeons asexually reproduce? Joking, but only kind of. I guess the fear is inter-species breeding?
- BitwiseFool 6y ago
  No, and in this specific instance there would have been no viable introduction. From the article, I think it's a male bird. But if it happened to be a gravid female then it's possible a population could have gotten started. That's basically what happened millions of years ago with Hawaii's native birds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drepanidini https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drepanidini Also, all native Hawaiian bee species are decended from a single female bee that landed there millions of years ago. Same thing with their native fruit flies. All from one pregnant female.
  - mikequinlan 6y ago
    Hawaii started as hot lava extruded from the ocean. All life on Hawaii originally came from someplace else.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
hprotagonist 6y ago
and australia's barn's had more than its fair share of equine escapees already!
unethical_ban 6y ago
Do they not have a nice bird quarantine zoo they could put it in?
nanis 6y ago
> that shouldn't delegitimize the importance of strict biocontrol. What makes the current inhabitants of Australia the only rightful inhabitants of Australia? Why is one mix of species better than another? If no animals had been able to migrate long distances throughout the history of the planet, would it have been better? It is one thing to regulate what animals or plants people can bring, but if an animal undertakes this trip and succeeds, why is it right to kill it instead of letting it be in its new home?
- TheGallopedHigh 6y ago
  Because it could potentially lay waste to large portions of the ecosystem before that system again reaches equilibrium.
  - nanis 6y ago
    > ecosystem before that system again reaches equilibrium. How do you know that the system is at equilibrium ("at rest") now? Why is the current ecosystem the most right ecosystem since the birth of the universe? Why should there be no disturbance of the current equilibrium? And, if we value equilibrium so much, shouldn't we undo the previous disturbance and remove most of the current inhabitants of Australia?
- imglorp 6y ago
  I wonder if they're conflating import and immigration. AU has a history of species being imported by humans and then overtaking native species so it's understandable they'd be concerned. You do make a good point about animals naturally achieving this on their own. Is human vs animal transport an artificial distinction of its own?
- jpollock 6y ago
  The same reason they kill off mosquitoes, snakes and spiders that come in on boats. Zero tolerance is only effective if it is _zero_ tolerance. Invasive species have huge economic impacts, to the point of causing the extinction of local species, and acting as transmission vectors for disease in humans. For example, the Asian Tiger mosquito: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedes_albopictus#For_humans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedes_albopictus#For_humans This is as much about advertising the "zero tolerance" part, which hopefully results in less meat/fruit smuggled across the border by visitors.
Exmoor 6y ago
Rock Dove (AKA Common Pigeon and Rock Pigeon) have been established in Australia for 150 years[0] so the ship has sailed on that one. Sounds like they're concerned about disease. [0]https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/rock-dove https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/rock-dove

Invasive species are no joke. Sure this reaction seems overboard and bizarre enough to be newsworthy but that shouldn't delegitimize the importance of strict biocontrol.

missedthecue 6y ago

Can pigeons asexually reproduce? Joking, but only kind of. I guess the fear is inter-species breeding?

BitwiseFool 6y ago
No, and in this specific instance there would have been no viable introduction. From the article, I think it's a male bird. But if it happened to be a gravid female then it's possible a population could have gotten started. That's basically what happened millions of years ago with Hawaii's native birds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drepanidini https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drepanidini Also, all native Hawaiian bee species are decended from a single female bee that landed there millions of years ago. Same thing with their native fruit flies. All from one pregnant female.
- mikequinlan 6y ago
  Hawaii started as hot lava extruded from the ocean. All life on Hawaii originally came from someplace else.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

hprotagonist 6y ago

and australia's barn's had more than its fair share of equine escapees already!

unethical_ban 6y ago

Do they not have a nice bird quarantine zoo they could put it in?

nanis 6y ago

> that shouldn't delegitimize the importance of strict biocontrol. What makes the current inhabitants of Australia the only rightful inhabitants of Australia? Why is one mix of species better than another? If no animals had been able to migrate long distances throughout the history of the planet, would it have been better? It is one thing to regulate what animals or plants people can bring, but if an animal undertakes this trip and succeeds, why is it right to kill it instead of letting it be in its new home?

TheGallopedHigh 6y ago
Because it could potentially lay waste to large portions of the ecosystem before that system again reaches equilibrium.
- nanis 6y ago
  > ecosystem before that system again reaches equilibrium. How do you know that the system is at equilibrium ("at rest") now? Why is the current ecosystem the most right ecosystem since the birth of the universe? Why should there be no disturbance of the current equilibrium? And, if we value equilibrium so much, shouldn't we undo the previous disturbance and remove most of the current inhabitants of Australia?
imglorp 6y ago
I wonder if they're conflating import and immigration. AU has a history of species being imported by humans and then overtaking native species so it's understandable they'd be concerned. You do make a good point about animals naturally achieving this on their own. Is human vs animal transport an artificial distinction of its own?
jpollock 6y ago
The same reason they kill off mosquitoes, snakes and spiders that come in on boats. Zero tolerance is only effective if it is _zero_ tolerance. Invasive species have huge economic impacts, to the point of causing the extinction of local species, and acting as transmission vectors for disease in humans. For example, the Asian Tiger mosquito: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedes_albopictus#For_humans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedes_albopictus#For_humans This is as much about advertising the "zero tolerance" part, which hopefully results in less meat/fruit smuggled across the border by visitors.

Exmoor 6y ago

Rock Dove (AKA Common Pigeon and Rock Pigeon) have been established in Australia for 150 years[0] so the ship has sailed on that one. Sounds like they're concerned about disease. [0]https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/rock-dove https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/rock-dove