Meghan

@Mattmcclellan1R Same, but with my parents house. This is why I went to their house tonight and not tomorrow!

It is both very cool and very annoying to be be in the path of a total eclipse Monday. No doubt it will be gorgeous, but I don’t think I can leave my house.

@CKMonty @Nikolaj_Bi I gotta wonder how they will influence marsupial evolution in the future. I have heard some species are stuck behind fences partially because of them, but I don't know how true that is.

@Nikolaj_Bi Dingos introduced to Australia several thousand years ago. Wiped out the Thylocine and probably many other species and are now considered a native species.

Are there examples of non-native species that are a success? Meaning that they just fit really well and in a balanced way into a niche in an ecosystem, perhaps left vacant after the disappearance of a native species? Or just as an "addition"? (1/2)

@Nikolaj_Bi Maybe pigeons? They seem to not really affect native bird populations and end up feeding Peregrines. They do spread disea to them and other birds that eat them though...

I'm pretty sure Long-eared Owls are a lie in Western PA.

I've been down on my wildlife photography lately cause of the rise of AI image generation... It can take hours or days to get a good photo of say, an owl, and it can just give you in a couple seconds. That and stuffy photographers in the wild, but that's nothing new, lol

@GibsonTomgibo I wish there was a better way to handle this. Cause eventually, places are going to become public, and then what? Is it better to post volunteers/workers who make sure that no one messes with stuff? I've seen that in some parks with rare flowers, but never birds or herps.

@Megraptor They're locally common to rare in the UK, mostly coastal and northern, many more come over for winter. But the issue is social media and photography, any publicised roost will bring out the worst in people then they abandon, if a place becomes known you get terrible behaviour

I've talked about gatekeeping in herping before, but I'm wondering if birders have seen it in their communities. What kind of things have you seen? I'm especially curious about sensitive species and gatekeeping and how often people experience that.

@GibsonTomgibo Long-eared Owls are kept hush hush here too. I know a place with them, but I don't know the time to go to see them yet... Feels like some people are in the loop about them though. Looks like they are more common in mainland Europe? There's always Serbia with that roost with 700+

@Megraptor There's a lot of sensitive species gatekeeping in the UK and althought it means I am out of the loop for various rare species that I'd love to see more I've got to accept that it's better that I don't know Honey Buzzard and Long-eared Owl locations amongst others.

@beardedmtnman That's what I kinda figured- pigeons have really helped the peregrine falcons!

@Megraptor I've wondered this, too, and haven't found a definitive answer. The same could be asked about the many non-native parrots living in cities. Maybe there's no competition within this urban ecological niche? If anything, there's a positive impact to the local raptor population.

So I've seen a lot of talk about appreciating pigeons. But these posts fail to mention that they aren't native to many places. When this is pointed out, I've heard that they don't actually impact native species all that much... But I'm wondering, is that actually right?

@MtnRangerDave That and humans, as a group, are in a unique position as able to be aware of the actions they take as impacting the environment. We haven't seen that kind of awareness from other species.

@MtnRangerDave Humans got there like 40,000-50,000 years ago, so a while before dingoes. Also, humans did what other animals did- walked and rafted. They weren't transported by another animal.

Should a non-native introduced species take precedent over a native reintroduced species if the two are incompatible? Or should the introduced species be removed to make way for the reintroduced species?

@JonesSebastian As for dingoes they didn't evolve there being a placental carnivore. There was no way they got there besides being introduced. Though they have filled a niche there. Devil did evolve there, but are gone from the mainland. Some evidence points to Dingoes being partially to blame.

@JonesSebastian But if they count as indigenous, then at what point will other species become indigenous? Should we disrupt that process?

@mj_man1 This is... News to me.

Close enough to 100

@JonesSebastian The one that comes to mind is the potential incompatibility between dingoes and Tasmanian Devils on the mainland. We haven't seen if that's true, but some evidence points to it. But there are probably plenty of other cases too.

@Megraptor Do you have an example in mind? Otherwise, it seems pretty standard to prioritize the native species. Although the relative rarity of the species, how long since extirpation, and how much the habitat has changed will all factor in the decision.

@Mattmcclellan1R Absolutely both! I mean they were just sea rolly pollies. (But actually, they were their own weird group in the big group of Arthropods...)

If trilobites were around today, do you think we’d think they’re adorable and meme them all the time, or would we be terrified of them?

@CatherineSemcer I'm just tired of the pay to volunteer and volunteer positions being sold to people as an entry level job. And I'm tired of the field accepting those as necessary to get conservation done. Cause those are incredibly inaccessible for most people in the world.

@CatherineSemcer There's a balance to be had, but it seems like diversity is an afterthought. Why is a complicated answer. It's more than "if we pay workers we can't save wildlife" though, like I keep hearing. Because it skews so much towards rich, white and westerners, it's hurting conservation.

I had a thought- why can't those sanctuaries and conservation organizations that bring in rich westerners for volunteering just use local people? I've been told they put the animals first, so they need the money from the westerners but... it doesn't seem very sustainable to me.