The 'easyJet ecoJet' would emit 50 percent less CO2 than today's newest ...
Friday September 16, 2005
More Images...
![]()
September 15, 2005
Wandering Cave Crickets...![]()
September 13, 2005
RNA, the 'Other' Genetic Material...
Conventional wisdom says that if you offer a crayfish a meal of native plants it eats everyday, and a meal of exotic plants it has never seen before, it will stick to what it knows best. But, in a recent study, scientists found that crayfish preferred the more exotic chow three to one.
This finding runs against Charles Darwin's enemy release hypothesis, proposed in 1859. This hypothesis states that exotic species become invasive because they are no longer at risk of being eaten by their natural enemies, allowing them to flourish and crowd out native species.
"What enemy release doesn't take into account is that while exotic plants may be free from their so-called natural enemies from their home range, they gain novel enemies in their new range," said John Parker, a graduate student at Georgia Tech. "Because they've never had to adapt to being eaten by these consumers, they may lack the appropriate defenses to ward them off, essentially going from the frying pan into the fire."
Parker and Mark Hay, a professor at Georgia Tech, paired 10 exotic plants with related native plants and offered them to two species of crayfish native to the southeastern United States. When given the choice, the crayfish preferred the exotic species three to one.
This finding may help point to better ways of controlling invasive species, which some estimate cause more than $137 billion in damage per year in the US. Currently the most common way of dealing with these pests are environmentally unfriendly herbicides.
This research is detailed in the Sept. issue of the journal Ecology Letters.
Amazing Images: Science & Nature Photos from Our Readers
Credit: Georgia Institute of Technology
Most Popular
- Recommended
- Commented
From the Blogs

- LiveScience Blogs
-
- The Bug Hunt Is On. Target: Marine Aliens
- HARPS Discovery - HD 40307 And Its Three Super-Earths
- Can This British Columbia Lake Tell Us Something About Life On Other Planets?
- Power Equals Positive Action But Only When Acquired Legitimately
- X Chromosome Gets Some Respect As An Evolutionary Tool
- Estrogen Therapy May Limit Strokes In Women - But The Timing Has To Be Right
- Reminder: Garth Sundem's Foolproof Equations On The Science Channel Tonight At 6PM
- The Bug Hunt Is On. Target: Marine Aliens
- 6.15.2008 | Tariq Malik
Father?s Day on Earth, in Space
t’s Father’s Day on Earth, and just in time for the seven-astronaut crew of NASA’s shuttle Discovery, which landed yesterday in... ... - 6.14.2008 | Robert Roy Britt
Cutting the Technotether That Ruins Your Life
he deluge of office and personal email and IM and texting, along with web surfing, putzing with iTunes and so on has workers increasingly distracted... ...
- 6.15.2008 | Tariq Malik
Related Items from the LiveScience Store
-
Ultimate 40x-400x Microscope $89.95
-
Stegosaurus Skeleton Model $149.95




