Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Humans to Oceans: Drop Dead

Our species-wide mission to make the oceans lifeless continues unabated.

The lionfish is wreaking havoc on the Caribbean and could drive many native species to extinction. The lionfish is popular in aquariums but is a voracious eater of other fish. It also has lovely venomous spikes that pierce divers' suits and embed themselves deeply into the skin.

Says the Times article:

Wherever it appears, the adaptable predator corners fish and crustaceans up to half its size with its billowy fins and sucks them down in one violent gulp.

Research teams observed one lionfish eating 20 small fish in less than 30 minutes.

Oregon State researcher Mark Hixon says that the lionfish epidemic, "''This may very well become the most devastating marine invasion in history.''

On the other hand, if we just kill every species in the ocean, environmentalists won't complain about using as a giant garbage dump. Wouldn't that be great!