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Western Washington is being invaded by aliens! They're taking over! Arghhhhhh!
What do they look like? How did they get here? You might be surprised.
Many of these aliens were invited here by everyday people like you and I. Some snuck in by stowing away in ships or bags of food.
But no matter how they first arrived, they are taking over!!!!
Let's look at some of the more pesky aliens in our midst, and try to figure out what we can do about them.
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Spartina
(Spartina spp)
Spartina is a grass that can grow out of shallow salt water. Sounds
kinda cool. But it's not. It spreads like wildfire, and chokes-out
the native plants and algae that provide food and habitat for the
animals that live in the intertidal regions of Puget Sound. More spartina
means less of most everything else in it's habitat. Spartina infestation is at epidemic proportions in parts of Washington (like Willipa Bay on the outer coast) and is spreading through Puget Sound. What can you do? First, learn how to identify spartina (watch for id tips and photos here soon), then, if you happen upon some, pull it up by the roots and dispose of it a garbage can. |
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| You can also join organizations, like Adopt a Beach (1-888-57-BEACH), and become active in Spartina Watch surveys and removal activities. | ||
The green crab is also invading the intertidal regions
of Washington. It's a small little critter, usually less than 9cm across,
but a voracious predator on our local shore crabs (Hemigrapsus spp),
young Dungeness (Cancer magister) and red rock crabs (Cancer
productus), and a multitude of clam species, consuming up to 40 per
day. So far, there have been no confirmed cases of green crabs in Puget
Sound, but many on the coast.
What can you do? Again, learn to identify the green crab (coming soon to this site). But under no circumstances should you capture and/or kill the crab. Identification can be difficult, and only a trained invidual with a scientific collection permit is legally allowed to capture green crabs. Some of our native crabs are green, and similar in size to Carcinus maenas, and if everyone who found one of these captured and killed them, it could decimate our native crab population, even faster than the green crab could! So...if you find a green crab, report it's location to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
Scot's (also Scotch) Broom (Cytisus scoparius)
Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)
English Holly
House Sparrow
What can you do? Again, learn to identify the green crab (coming soon to this site). But under no circumstances should you capture and/or kill the crab. Identification can be difficult, and only a trained invidual with a scientific collection permit is legally allowed to capture green crabs. Some of our native crabs are green, and similar in size to Carcinus maenas, and if everyone who found one of these captured and killed them, it could decimate our native crab population, even faster than the green crab could! So...if you find a green crab, report it's location to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
Scot's (also Scotch) Broom (Cytisus scoparius)
Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)
English Holly
House Sparrow