Opinions needed
Hello!
I have an idea to make a new big umbrella project "Introduced species in New Zealand" which contains many smaller projects for each taxa just like this one, because as far as I can recall there is no active platform for introduced species on iNatNZ.
Although there is a project made by @tripleaxel, I think it has been quite inactive. (https://www.inaturalist.nz/projects/introduced-new-zealand-species)
Actually introduced species can be filtered from Explore or Identify pages, however it is just a search and it does not provide a place to discuss about them (discussions can be about various things- how to trap a rat, reports on introduced species in an area or how to reliably identify small introduced landsnais etc).
Filtering is a bit tricky for iNat newcomers and is impossible for app users, therefore I thought I could make a project to make it easier for people to discuss about introduced species in NZ, also aiming to support the Predator Free 2050 goal .
Any opinions (comments) are welcome- if there are any problems about this I am happy to delete the project, because it is totally experimental for now.
I randomly tagged 20 of you I saw on iNat recently. Please note that there is no meaning or reason for the order or why there are some people not being tagged, but I just wanted this to get some attension from people.
Please feel free to ignore this but I would really appreciate your opinions.
@predomalpha
@fiestykakapo
@chrisc
@lloyd_esler
@dave_holland
@stephen_thorpe
@clinton
@emma_brockes
@simonnicholas
@lisa_bennett
@tony_wills
@wild_wind
@happygolucky_mel
@dan686
@luca_dt
@jon_sullivan
@russellclarke
@john_barkla
@steve_kerr
Thank you for having a look!
Comments
Test: https://www.inaturalist.nz/projects/introduced-species-in-nz. I will update it if no one disagrees with the idea, and I am happy to make people admins or owners of those projects if anyone wants to contribute.
Please comment to this journal if you are happy to share your opinions. Thank you!
I reckon it's a good idea to try it out!
I think I am a member of the endemic NZ spider project, although I have never investigated any further than that. I am happy to be a member of a general introduced NZ critter group to contribute IDs.
I think it's important not to conflate 'introduced' with 'bad - especially when referring to predator-free 2050. Some introduced species are beneficial, and most are probably neutral at best. Officially designated invasive/pest species - fair enough.
Iv got at least one project that could go under this umbrella.
i'm sure this is a good idea, although i think @russellclarke is right about not annotating bad... maybe we could have a section of the project: invasive/pests or we could make a mammalian predator section.
Yes, good points from @russellclarke and @dan686.
In my opinion, this project would need to aim for a wider scope than supporting predator free 2050. I do think that Including a predator free 2050 project within the umbrella project would be a good idea though.
I personally think this project would be more valuable -as you said - as a way to facilitate conversations about introduced taxa. And it could be, I suppose, a resource from which new ecological hypotheses may develop.
I like to think that a project like this could inform planning of a predator free 2150 project, which uses pest control methods we can't yet imagine...
@emma_brockes maybe not a predator free 2150, because hopefully we'll be there by around 2050 if were lucky :) maybe a pest free 2150 (if the planet isn't too broken by then).
@dan686 True! However, I would consider invertebrates such as introduced vespula and paper wasps to be predators and I doubt they'll be gone by 2050. Would be awesome though! Yeah hopefully there will still be biodiversity to protect in 2150.
Yes interesting with Predator Free 2050. It worries me that there is no plan B. 2050 is utterly impossible - maybe a significant reduction in predators in certain parts of the country by 2050. Perhaps that should be the goal, otherwise what happens when we part the curtains at 5am on 1.1.51, wave to the possum in the pear tree and mutter 'Well, that didn't work'?
It's not actually "Predator Free" it's like NZ's "Smokefree 2025" goal - when you read the fine print defines "Smokefree" as less than 10% of the adult population smoking.
"Predator Free" is just the catchy name for significantly reducing the harm done by a select few species and cannot be taken literally. We would never actually aim for that as we have lots of native predators, and as Russell points out we have benign introduced predators (although one could argue there is no such thing). It is a giant leap in the right direction, but we need to start having the conversation with the domestic cat owners! Over the longer term we need to somehow get them to agree to:
Registration of cats - like dogs are.
A maximum number of cats per household.
Desexing of all cats (this might have to be done in increments).
Agree that the current cat/s they have will not be replaced.
Unregistered cats are defined as introduced predators and thus are targeted for significant reduction/elimination.
Advances in genetic engineering over the next hundred years may make it possible to safely remove target species from an ecosystem. Also there are unseen/unpredictable benefits to predator control. No one predicted the local extinction of Vespula wasps on certain offshore islands following rat eradication.
Thank you all for the comments. Very interesting discussion!
It is true that not all introduced species are bad, however in my opinion it is best to reduce them as much as possible since those "neutral" introduced species can still potentially take over positions in the ecosystem from native species. The point of protecting native species is to keep good biodiversity worldwide (some people say it is important because having good biodiversity is benefitial for humans and also it is extremely valuable just like traditional cultures: but I just think humans are the only species who can tidy up what human did so we should do it), so having the same species in many places is not a very good situation.
Yes, Predetor Free 2050 is not aiming a complete elimination of the all the invasive carnivous species in NZ, and instead it says "The Predator Free 2050 vision is focused on the complete removal of five most damaging predators: rats, stoats, ferrets, weasels and possums. Other introduced predators such as hedgehogs and feral cats also have an impact on our native flora and fauna." in the website.
However, there have been a lot of people and money involving in it so I believe it is efficient to promote the importance of monitoring and removing other harmful introduced species related to PF2050 so hopefully it can lead to a bigger movement. And cats.... they just are environment destroyers when outside.
Apparently genetic engineering is the biggest hope for now to get rid of invertebrate invasives.
I will soon make some projects per large taxonomic units to be put under the general introduced project. Thank you everyone!
As a huge cat fan I will just stick to Spider IDs :)
@russellclarke I love cats too. They are amazing creatures and I cuddle them at every opportunity, but they belong in Africa.
has anyone else been noticing the scourge of spiders that have completely invaded new Zealand... i'm talking about sombrero spiders, because i've seen them everywhere and anywhere.
Yes, where there is a house, there will be a sombrero spider - at least in the North Island. They're not so prevalent in the SI if iNat data is to be be believed. To be fair to them, I think they were first observed in the 1950s, so not exactly a sudden invasion. But show me a sombrero spider and I'll find you a dozen Badumna!
Spiders are awesome, so I don't consider them to be a scourge. If you want a collective noun, use 'clutter'. It makes them sound quite cuddly.
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