Salmonsaladsandwich Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Why are all of the common isopod species in the US supposedly non native? Apart possibly from a few southern Florida species, it seems all woodlice are introduced from Europe... Why aren't there any native North American species? And considering how abundant the invasive ones are, why hasn't their impact on the ecosystem been studied more extensively? I just have a hard time imagining that the continent was once isopod- free... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cariblatta lutea Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I was wondering the same until I learned about some of our native isopods from an isopod expert. Recently found out that there's Miktoniscus medcofi (super tiny species that seem to be common throughout Alabama) in my area, and I've found what appears to be Ligidium elrodii at Auburn. Oh and a recent visit to Torreya State Park yielded some Ligidium floridanum and Venezillo parvus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonsaladsandwich Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Yeah but those are all small and not nearly as common and widespread as introduced armadillidium, oniscus and porcellio. I wonder what took their niche before their introduction. I feel like they must have a dramatic impact on native environments, but they've been here so long that it can't be studied. Perhaps those small species did once dominate but they've been displaced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpet Roaches Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Isopods are just one of many things we didn't have. http://www.dailymail...ommon-cold.html I do not condone the political science of the article, it was just a quick example of fauna changes. Research on introduced isopods shows they are harmless and if they weren't it would be way too late to do anything about it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonsaladsandwich Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 I guess they're harmless because they don't consume living plants or animals, just dead stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy1892 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Why are all of the common isopod species in the US supposedly non native? Apart possibly from a few southern Florida species, it seems all woodlice are introduced from Europe... Why aren't there any native North American species? And considering how abundant the invasive ones are, why hasn't their impact on the ecosystem been studied more extensively? I just have a hard time imagining that the continent was once isopod- free... Interesting topic. I was wondering about the exact same thing these past weeks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Considering the popularity that our friends the earthworms have been receiving for their effects on indigenous ecosystems, I'm surprised more work hasn't been done on isopods. http://ecosystems.se...hworm-invaders/ They are certainly terraforming (consuming leaf litter, occupying space niches under barks and inside logs, aerating the upper levels of soil, selectively grazing on plants when at high population density, etc) ecosystems but in a way that few have quantified yet. As Orin said though, it's too late to do anything now considering their sheer numbers and diversity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrarieNaturalist Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Hey I actually know some info on this! In some parts of the US the main decomposers were forrest crayfish! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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