Asian
Swamp Eels: (AKA, rice eel, or "Terminator" eels)
by eric drewes
I first heard about the eels a few monthes ago, they were incredible.
they could breath in air and water, they could eat anything and live in
any climate. They could live for monthes without food, burried in
mud. I heard a story of one that was trapped in a wet towel in a
boat for over 6 monthes, and when it was discovered, it was still alive.
The eels are invicible, insatiable, and multiplying. You think this
is a minor problem for mankind? There are over 10,000 of these things
living around the florida everglades already. They have no known predators.
They are coming. You will see. all shall cower under their
might.
REAL ACTUAL NEWS PRESS ABOUT THE EELS:
from: www.nativefish.org/Articles/Flier2_2.htm
INVINCIBLE EEL INVASION - The July/August 1998 River Crossings
reported Asian swamp eels are yet another exotic to North America where
it has been found in a Florida swamp and small lakes near Atlanta, GA.
The “Terminator” eel can
breathe air which enables it to move overland in search of new waterways,
is resistant to fish toxicants used to control exotics,
and may spread as far north along the Atlantic Coast to Chesapeake
Bay. Wayne Starnes of the North Carolina State Museum
of Natural Science said, “There’s no way to control them...
except direct clubbing.”
from: http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/eel000929.html
The eel doesn’t appear to be affected by most fish poisons. Biologists
are prevented
from using stronger ones, such as cyanide, since the canals around the
park are
linked up with a Florida aquifer.
It’s nearly impossible to hunt down the eels by hand and net since
they’re mostly
nocturnal and can take quick shelter in crevices. Exploding dynamite in
the water, a
technique that kills most fish by popping blood vessels in their air sacs,
doesn’t work
with eels because they have no such organ. Draining ditches is no solution,
either,
since the eels can survive in water and on land.
The Asian eel’s soap opera, so to speak, is its adaptability. The Asian
import is
equipped with both gills and lung-like organs to breathe. It can
survive in marshes
and swamps, as well as in ponds, canals, roadside ditches and rice fields.
If
conditions become dry, the eel simply slithers into mud or grass and can
live there for
as long as seven months with no food.
also from http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/eel000929.html
One reason is it’s a tenacious predator. To eat its prey, which Curnutt
has
observed includes “almost anything” from frogs to small fish to shrimp
to turtle eggs,
the eel uses its mouth as a vacuum cleaner and sucks in smaller creatures.
Those
that it can’t suck in, it grabs with its teeth and spins quickly until
they are torn in half
and can be ingested in smaller chunks.
“The concern is the space they take up as predators means they’re replacing
another native creature in the food chain,” says Paul Shafford, head of
non-native fish
research at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “They
change
the energy flow of the ecosystem.”
Florida’s warm, wet climate is known for accommodating outside species
— 28
fish from Central America, Africa and Asia now thrive in its waters. Curnutt
notes
almost none has managed to reach the deep interior of the Everglades park.
Most
fish, he explains, get stuck in marsh land and expire before reaching the
interior.
That’s where the Asian eel has a clear advantage.
“This eel can burrow in the mud and wait for months and then get going
again,” he
says. “As an adaptable predator, it has the potential to colonize the whole
system.”
from: http://www.floridaenvironment.com/programs/fe00515.htm
(John Curnutt, Research Ecologist, Biological
Resources Division, U.S. Geological
Survey)...
"It's a disgusting looking thing, actually."
John Curnutt is a research ecologist...
"It has no fins, it has almost no characteristics at
all. It's like a big slimy worm with two
tiny little eyes and kind of a v-shaped mouth."
and also
"We're terribly afraid that if this thing does get into
the Everglades marsh system -- it's
10,000 square kilometers of marshes -- it'll be able to
survive through that kind of pulsed
hydroperiod that the Everglades is famous for. Whereas
the other fish couldn't."
more..
There's no stopping a new predator
I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment.
There's a new predatory animal that has invaded Florida,
and scientists are very
concerned. Previously only found in Asia, the Asian Swamp
Eel has now been found in
Georgia and in three Florida locations. It is anticipated
as a serious threat to Florida
wildlife (John Curnutt, Research Ecologist, Biological
Resources Division, U.S. Geological
Survey)...
"We haven't yet found a good way to stop them."
John Curnutt is a research ecologist. He says one of the
problems in controlling the
invading eel is its lack of an air bladder that would
let scientists manage it like they do
fish...
"It can breathe air, so controls like Rotenone, which
is always used to control fish
populations, won't work on the eel because that effects
their gills."
And while some invading plants and animals can be managed
naturally, the Asian Swamp
Eel has no known predators, and is likely to thrive in
the climate...
"You know, a lot of tropical things in South Florida,
they can't really persist in cold
weather, and a frost would kill them off. This thing
can go... well it's already in Georgia,
and it lives pretty far north in China, so I suspect
the climate won't be that much of a
problem."
from a US gov press release: http://biology.usgs.gov/pr/newsrelease/1998/6-15.html
Swamp eels, which reach lengths of three feet or more, are predators,
feeding on animals such as worms, insects, shrimp,
crayfish, other fishes and frogs. Yet, said Nico, the eels are also
able to survive weeks -- and possibly months -- without food.
The eels are highly secretive, with most of their activities occurring
at night. In the day, the fish hide in thick aquatic vegetation
or in small burrows and crevices along the water's edge. In many populations,
all young are hatched as females. Then, after
spending part of their life as females, the eels transform into large
males.
from: http://floridafarmbureau.org/flag/nov2k/viewnov.html
The eel indulges an insatiable
appetite for anything that crosses
its path. It can clear streams and
ponds of fish, shrimp, frogs
and insects. While it prefers
tropical surroundings, it can
survive very cold water
temperatures. Researchers say it
can do without food and water
for months.
It can breathe air as well as
extract oxygen from water, and
groups of as many as 50 have
been known to slither along the
ground for short distances
between bodies of water. It
seems to be impervious to the
poisons used to clear water
bodies of fish. Even dynamite
won’t kill it.
All this, and it’s a
gender-bender, too. In the
absence of a female, a male can
reportedly transform its sex and
produce young. Scientists can’t
explain that.
in conclusion:
GaijinSenshi: i'm gonna make a webpage about them
mehakoi: I think the eels
mehakoi: definatly get a webpage
mehakoi: are you going to make it celebrating them
GaijinSenshi: of course
mehakoi: or from there prespective of eniment world domination?
GaijinSenshi: both
GaijinSenshi: :-)
mehakoi: i wouldn't mind the entire human race being destoryed by eels
back home (http://adunai.iwarp.com/)