Category Archives: Invasive species

Labor has ‘pressed pause’ in fight to contain spread of fire ants, invasive species council says

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If unchecked, pest species would burden health system with 650,000 more appointments and more than $2bn in costs each year, expert says

The federal government’s response to a Senate inquiry into the spread of invasive fire ants has been labelled inadequate with experts saying Labor has “essentially pressed the pause button”.

An April upper house report contained 10 recommendations. The Albanese government on Monday said it supported three in their entirety and three in principle – including calls for funding reviews, more transparency and improved council collaboration.

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Bottom-breathing turtle among Queensland endangered species under threat from invasive fish

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Record floods propel aggressive Mozambique tilapia throughout Mary River, compromising efforts to save ancient fish and endangered turtles

Record floods have propelled an aggressive invasive fish species across a south-east Queensland river catchment, compromising efforts to save endangered and ancient fishes and turtles.

The Moonaboola (Mary) river catchment is home to several threatened species, including the Mary River turtle, the white-throated snapping turtle (known for breathing through its bottom), the Mary River cod and the Australian lungfish, which has survived for 150m years and is considered a living fossil.

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New species of invasive flatworm discovered in three southern US states

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Amaga pseudobama was first spotted in 2020 in North Carolina and has now spread to Florida and Georgia

A new species of invasive flatworm has been discovered in the United States and has been found in several states in the south, according to a new paper.

The species, named Amaga pseudobama, was discovered by an international team of researchers and first spotted in 2020 in North Carolina. It is thought to be native to South America.

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‘Australia’s next rabbit plague’: calls for feral deer in Victoria to be considered a pest instead of wildlife

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Victoria is home to perhaps the largest population and the only mainland state with ‘legislative relic’ of protections

Land holders and managers along with landcare and environment groups want Victoria to remove protections for feral deer, as booming populations wreak havoc on agriculture and the local environment.

Jordan Crook, from the Victorian National Parks Association, said recognising deer as pests – alongside foxes, rabbits and pigs – would bring Victoria in line with the rest of mainland Australia.

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Fear for koalas after bushwalker finds fire ant nests near Queensland sanctuary

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Calls for suppression efforts to be extended after at least five nests discovered at Logan in the Daisy Hill koala bushlands

Fire ants have reached protected koala habitat and a koala priority area in south-eastern Queensland, with experts warning of the danger the highly invasive pest poses to native wildlife.

At least five red imported fire ant (Rifa) nests were discovered in Neville Lawrie reserve at Logan, which is part of the Daisy Hill koala bushlands, at the end of August.

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Fresh warning on fire ants in Queensland as suppression efforts struggle to halt spread

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US specialist on invasive species says the densities of the destructive pest are approaching what he has seen in Texas

Parts of Queensland have as many fire ants as Texas – a hotbed of the uncontrolled infestation that costs the US billions of dollars each year, an expert has warned

Dr Robert Puckett is an American specialist on invasive ant species and he’s followed Australia’s efforts to eradicate fire ants since they were discovered in Brisbane 23 years ago.

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ACT moves to protect dingoes after genetic study into animals in Namadgi national park

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There’s officially just one classification for ‘wild dogs/dingoes’, which lists them as pests

The Australian Capital Territory has taken steps to recognise dingoes as a distinct species in need of protection after DNA research found a population of up to 400 pure dingoes in Namadgi national park.

But farmers worry the change will hamper their efforts to protect their livestock.

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Fire ants could be spreading on Australian military bases due to ‘massive surveillance failure’, experts say

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Invasive Species Council demands audit of all defence sites after red imported fire ants detected at Swartz Barracks outside Queensland containment zone

Defence bases pose a “huge risk” when it comes to stopping the spread of invasive fire ants in Australia, with experts suggesting there has been “a massive surveillance failure” on the commonwealth-owned properties.

Fire ants have been detected at eight defence sites in Queensland. Seven are within the state’s 700,000-hectare fire ants containment zone which stretches from the Gold Coast to Caboolture.

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Giant, invasive joro spiders to spread on US east coast – but pose no huge threat

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The venomous spiders native to east Asia look frightening, but are reportedly shy creatures

The US north-east is bracing for yet another pest invasion – this time, giant venomous spiders – as scientists warn that the gag-inducing arachnids are set to advance this summer.

The joro spider, an invasive species from east Asia, will be making a larger appearance in New York, New Jersey and other eastern US states as the summer season heats up.

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More than 5,000 feral horses culled in Kosciuszko national park since aerial shooting resumed

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Conservationist says for first time number of animals removed exceeds annual population growth

More than 5,000 feral horses have been culled since the recommencement of aerial shooting in the Kosciuszko national park, with the NSW environment minister, Penny Sharpe, describing the number as proof of the need to control the threat the animals pose to the alpine wilderness.

Conservationists said for the first time the number of horses removed from the park would exceed the annual growth in horse populations, giving hope that a major threat for under-pressure ecosystems was starting to be addressed.

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Tiny freshwater Snowy Mountains fish faces extinction, environmentalists say

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The Yalmy galaxias is ‘on the verge of disappearing for ever’ and Labor on the brink of failing to meet its zero extinctions target

Even on its best days, the Yalmy galaxias is hard to find. The small, native freshwater fish is only known to live in a couple of tributaries of the Snowy River in remote and mountainous East Gippsland.

It was last seen in March 2023, when a government survey found 20 survivors. Since then? Nobody knows.

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Cost of fire-ant outbreak in Australia could be much higher than ‘flawed’ earlier prediction, data shows

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Australia Institute says 2021 analysis had 15-year timeframe when modelling of the invasive species is usually over 20 to 30 years

The cost of a widespread fire ant outbreak may be far higher than predicted in “flawed” government modelling provided to ministers in the fight against the highly invasive species, new research suggests.

The Australia Institute data, released on Wednesday, found that red imported fire ants will cost Australians more than $22bn by the 2040s if left to run rampant, with the benefits of achieving eradication estimated to be three to nine times greater than the $3bn needed to achieve that eradication.

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Early warning system to track Asian hornets unveiled by UK researchers

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Monitoring station detects predatory species using artificial intelligence and sends alert so nests can be traced

An early warning system designed to track and trace predatory Asian hornets using artificial intelligence has been unveiled by experts from a British university.

Researchers from the University of Exeter have invented a system that draws hornets to a monitoring station. They land on a sponge cloth impregnated with food and an overhead camera captures images.

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‘Wildly toxic’ poison used on fire ants is killing native Australian animals, experts warn Senate inquiry

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Fipronil is banned for use on crops in the EU, China, Vietnam and California

A “wildly toxic” chemical used to combat fire ants and the varroa mite in Australia is banned in Europe and harmful to humans – and it is poisoning waterways and killing native fauna, experts warn.

Fipronil acts as an insect nerve agent and is banned for use on crops in the EU, China, Vietnam and California because of its effect on pollinators. The insecticide was used in sugar baits across New South Wales in the now abandoned fight against the invasive varroa mite and has been injected into 35,539 fire ant nests in south-east Queensland and northern NSW since January 2023 as part of the national red imported fire ant eradication program.

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Australian program to eradicate red fire ants is a ‘shambles’, Senate inquiry told

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Invasive species could be worse than rabbits, cane toads, foxes, camels, wild dogs and feral cats combined, committee hears

A Senate inquiry into the spread of fire ants in Australia has heard that the government program tasked with their elimination is an “absolute shambles” and that an independent eradication body is urgently needed.

The highly invasive insect is believed to have entered Australia in the 1990s and was discovered at Brisbane port in 2001. A program spanning state, territory and federal governments was created to eradicate red imported fire ants and it has received more than $1.2bn of federal and state funding. Of that, $593m covers 2023 to 2027.

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Ill-judged tree planting in Africa threatens ecosystems, scientists warn

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Research reveals area size of France is under threat by restoration projects taking place in unsuitable landscapes

Misguided tree-planting projects are threatening crucial ecosystems across Africa, scientists have warned.

Research has revealed that an area the size of France is threatened by forest restoration initiatives that are taking place in inappropriate landscapes.

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Millions of Australians at risk of being stung by fire ants each year, experts warn

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Inquiry into invasive pest hears of risks species poses to health, agriculture and environment if it becomes endemic

Fire ants could sting 8.6 million Australians a year if they were to become endemic – but a pathogenic fungus and pesticide-loaded drones might help avert that scenario, according to submissions posed to the federal government’s fire ants inquiry.

Submissions to the Senate inquiry into red imported fire ants (Rifa) in Australia closed on Monday, just days after the latest in a string of fire ant detections beyond south-east Queensland, where an infestation of the invasive pest is ongoing.

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Lions making fewer zebra kills due to ‘chain reaction’ involving invasive ants

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Hunting by Kenyan lions impeded in ‘ecological chain reaction’ as big-headed ants fail to stop elephants stripping acacia trees – the cats’ ambush cover

When a lion decides to chase down a zebra it seems as though nothing can stop it. But now researchers have discovered these enormous predators are being thwarted by a tiny foe: ants.

Scientists have found the spread of big-headed ants in east Africa sets off a situation leading to lions making fewer zebra kills.

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Fire ants detected south of Byron Bay after gardener raises alarm

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NSW authorities are working to determine how long the pest has been in the area and how they arrived

Invasive fire ants are continuing their march south, prompting a plea for vigilance, after a nest was detected at Wardell, south of Byron Bay, the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries says.

A gardener raised the alarm on Friday after disturbing the nest and being bitten, suffering what was described as blistering pain.

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‘A biodiversity catastrophe’: how the world could look in 2050 – unless we act now

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The climate crisis, invasive species, overexploitation of resources and pollution could break down crucial ecosystems. We asked experts to lay out the risks and offer some solutions

The continued destruction of nature across the planet will result in major shocks to food supplies and safe water, the disappearance of unique species and the loss of landscapes central to human culture and leisure by the middle of this century, experts have warned.

By 2050, if humanity does not follow through on commitments to tackle the five main drivers of nature loss critical natural systems could break down just as the human population is projected to peak.

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