Research Prospectus: Invasive species

So I decided that my topic for the research will be invasive species. I find the topic very interesting in that it is not a typical problem you hear about. It is also exciting because it involves intense natural competition and is a perfect exhibit of evolution in action. The first thing I wanted to research in this topic is a couple of species I have heard about and known were causing a problem. Recently the asian carp which is an enormous fish brought into the United States in the 1970's for help with algae control was found in a river tributary of Lake Superior. This suggests that the Asian carp will enter the Great Lakes (the largest fresh water source in the world). The negative effects of Asian carp infestation are that the carp literally eat its way through the Great Lakes. It can eat 40 percent of its body in a day. (Chicagotribune.com) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped1208byrnedec08,0,7604635.column After the asian carp i found another species that is considered invasive called the snakehead pike. This is a nasty looking fish that also eats its way through competition. It has no predators above it and will take over fish populations. The fish is very interesting because it can live 4 days on land and can breath atmospheric air. It can travel across the land and move from lake to lake. This gives environmental agents fits because they want to eradicate the snakeheads but they spread rapidly and can jump ponds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakehead_(fish) After snakeheads I swithSo I decided that my topic for the research will be invasive species. I find the topic very interesting in that it is not a typical problem you hear about. It is also exciting because it involves intense natural competition and is a perfect exhibit of evolution in action. The first thing I wanted to research in this topic is a couple of species I have heard about and known were causing a problem. Recently the asian carp which is an enormous fish brought into the United States in the 1970's for help with algae control was found in a river tributary of Lake Superior. This suggests that the Asian carp will enter the Great Lakes (the largest fresh water source in the world). The negative effects of Asian carp infestation are that the carp literally eat its way through the Great Lakes. It can eat 40 percent of its body in a day. (Chicagotribune.com) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped1208byrnedec08,0,7604635.column After the asian carp i found another species that is considered invasive called the snakehead pike. This is a nasty looking fish that also eats its way through competition. It has no predators above it and will take over fish populations. The fish is very interesting because it can live 4 days on land and can breath atmospheric air. It can travel across the land and move from lake to lake. This gives environmental agents fits because they want to eradicate the snakeheads but they spread rapidly and can jump ponds. So I decided that my topic for the research will be invasive species. I find the topic very interesting in that it is not a typical problem you hear about. It is also exciting because it involves intense natural competition and is a perfect exhibit of evolution in action. The first thing I wanted to research in this topic is a couple of species I have heard about and known were causing a problem. Recently the asian carp which is an enormous fish brought into the United States in the 1970's for help with algae control was found in a river tributary of Lake Superior. This suggests that the Asian carp will enter the Great Lakes (the largest fresh water source in the world). The negative effects of Asian carp infestation are that the carp literally eat its way through the Great Lakes. It can eat 40 percent of its body in a day. (Chicagotribune.com) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped1208byrnedec08,0,7604635.column After the asian carp i found another species that is considered invasive called the snakehead pike. This is a nasty looking fish that also eats its way through competition. It has no predators above it and will take over fish populations. The fish is very interesting because it can live 4 days on land and can breath atmospheric air. It can travel across the land and move from lake to lake. This gives environmental agents fits because they want to eradicate the snakeheads but they spread rapidly and can jump ponds.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakehead_(fish)After this I switched focus and went to a plant invasive specie called kudzu. Kudzuis common just about everywhere in the eastern US and grows at an incredible rate. It can grow up to a foot a day and literally covers entire houses and forests. Obviously this creates some problems as it is a parasite to communities and the environment as well. Kudzu can cover a tree and basically kill and take down the tree. It will cut off life to anything it covers. At this point there is little hope for eradication because it grows so fast and is so plentiful. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu I found all this research interesting I have to figure out what my position would be on this topic. I want to research ways that that people are trying to deal w these problems. For instance, people are proposing many options to deal with the asian carp problem. One solution would be to close or renovate the Chicago Sanitation and Shiping canal or outfitting the structure with fish zappers that kill many fish in hopes of staving off one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakehead_Fish
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped1208byrnedec08,0,7604635.column