22 May 2008

Battle in Britain

This is an older article from a UK newspaper about the invasive potential of Marmorkrebs.

At least, I'm 99% sure it's about Marmorkrebs. They quote Gerhard Scholtz and everything. But the writing is surprisingly vague. It doesn't clearly say that these are all female -- it does say "without mating," but I wonder if some people might interpret that as the animal having mated before purchase. The article refers to "marine experts," which is a little odd, since "marine" refers to oceans, and crayfish are freshwater.

It's tempting to say that it's typical of British tabloid journalism -- though I have no idea whether the Daily Mail is a tabloid or not. But look at the prose, to which I've added a little emphasis...

...carries a deadly plague...

...these alien invaders can reproduce in great numbers at great speed without mating...

...an even grimmer future...

...then the next minute her small aquarium was overrun...

...larger and more aggressive than native varieties, giving them a competitive edge in the hunt for food.

Even the "hunt for food" quote gives a misleading impression, suggesting Marmorkrebs are ravenous predators rather then generalists with a preference for vegetables.

I guess I should be glad that people are paying attention to the invasive potential of Marmorkrebs. It is a serious issue.

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