lionfish
Latest
How conservationists are controlling invasive species in the 21st century
When humans colonized islands throughout the Pacific some 2,000 years ago, rats came along for the ride. The introduction of those rodents proved disastrous for the local island exosystem, a pattern than unfortunately continues to this day with no sign of slowing. Conservationists are now experimenting with high tech solutions to help keep invasive species in check.
Spear-toting robot can guard coral reefs against invasive lionfish
Lionfish are threats to not only fragile coral reef ecosystems, but the divers who keep them in check. They not only take advantage of unsuspecting fish populations, but carry poisonous spines that make them challenging to catch. Student researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute may have a solution: robotic guardians. They've crafted an autonomous robot (below) that can hunt lionfish without requiring a tethered operator that could harm the reefs.
Researchers are building a robotic Lionfish exterminator
We joke around a lot about bringing about a horrific robot apocalypse, but let's get real: sometimes, building a killer robot is just the right thing to do. Well, at least when those robots are being used to cull invasive species. Researchers at Robots In Service of the Environment (RISE) are developing a robot to fight an invasive population of Lionfish that's threatening ecosystems off the coast of Florida as well as in the Caribbean and Bermuda.
