Technology Used Against Non-native Invasive Speicies

Invasive species are plants and animals that thrive in areas where they don’t naturally live. Most are brought to new places by humans either by accident or intentionally. With no natural predators, some of these species begin to multiply and take over specific locations.

Sometimes, they also kill off the native species that live there. Now, new technology is being combined with old methods such as pesticides and weed pulling to repel these unwanted creatures. It is crucial to get rid of the majority of these pests because of the cost. Whether destroying fruit and vegetable crops or taking over an ecosystem. They cost approximately $314 billion per year in damages in just the United States. A new underwater robot is targeting the dangerous lionfish.

With no natural predator in the Atlantic, the aquarium fish easily devours large amounts of other fish. The robot is called Guardian LF1, uses what is said a gentle shock to immobilize the fish before they are sucked alive into a tube. In its first public showing this month, the robot caught 15 lionfish in Bermuda. Many other animals have been caught with similar robots, recently. Including Brown Tree Snakes of the Pacific Island of Guam; Asian Carp of rivers and lakes in the Midwest; and wild goats of the Galapagos Island. Though, there are worries about regulating and controlling this technology, along with actually being able to get it done.