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Full Version: Fear of Killer Shrimp May Threaten Rivers
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https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48515645

Fear alone could be altering the behavior of other species in the aquatic ecosystems of UK Rivers.  The presence of these killer shrimp is enough to cause other species to be less effective in what they do.  Known formally as the Dikerogammarus villosus,   this crutascean causes the other species to spend more time and energy avoiding the killer shrimp and less time on behaviors that are required for their existence.  A study completed shows that simply being in the same tank as one of the shrimp caused the other species to not perform tasks such as shredding leaves that are vital for other species to survive. The threat of the killer shrimp has been linked to extinction of species in some area.  

[Image: _107229155_dikerogammarusvillosus-credit...oflodz.jpg]
This occurrence is not good news for the local species at all as killer shrimp can sap off the same food source as the local aquatic animals. However, this behavior is expected from most of these invasive species such as the killer shrimp. I recall many example of invasive species that drastically affect the food web of various places such as the Cane Toad being introduced to Australia, Asian Carp to North America and Europe and Zebra Mussels to Europe and Russia. Hopefully these matters can be dealt with soon before the extinction of native species.
This is like how when you hear a gunshot everyone run away, cause we all get scared of being shot, we sometimes even run towards more danger leaving everything behind.
(06-09-2019, 07:30 AM)George Spornic Wrote: [ -> ]This occurrence is not good news for the local species at all as killer shrimp can sap off the same food source as the local aquatic animals. However, this behavior is expected from most of these invasive species such as the killer shrimp. I recall many example of invasive species that drastically affect the food web of various places such as the Cane Toad being introduced to Australia, Asian Carp to North America and Europe and Zebra Mussels to Europe and Russia. Hopefully these matters can be dealt with soon before the extinction of native species.
I agree with you in that this sort of thing happens frequently and that this behaviour from the other species is to be expected. Whether the invasive species was purposely or not, I feel as though they create more issues than they do solve. I believe that there should be more measures taken to ensure organisms are staying in the native territory in order to eliminate all possible issues. I recognize that sometimes the introduction of a certain species is designed to be a positive action but I feel like it is rare that it actually does more good than bad.