[THENATHE]

It is wild to me how it seems like every blight or environmental disease or pest I hear about comes from Asia, Chestnut blight, Bark beetles, wildly invasive tree species where I live, carp, Burmese Pythons, that orange disease like 10 years ago, COVID, bird flu, etc.

Not making any kind of statement really, just that the only type of invasive species I know of from NOT Asia is climbing ivy

[Modified3019]

It’s definitely curious, but makes more sense when you realized that problems that spread from “the west” to Asia have no reason to be brought up, or even talked about in our languages.

“Eastern Filbert Blight” is a fungal disease native to North America, and our native hazelnuts are able to tolerate it. European hazelnuts are typically used in agriculture (for multiple good reasons) however these are basically wiped out by EFB without constant copper sprays, as they never evolved with the arms race against this pathogen. While I hear about it a lot here in Oregon, where we have a lot of European hazelnut variety orchards, I never hear much about what it’s doing in say England, or Turkey.

Incidentally, while an EFB resistant series of hazelnut cultivars was developed in response by Oregon State University, containing the Gasaway gene, there is now version of EFB that can fully overcome that resistance and is rapidly spreading here in Oregon, though it’s likely on the east coast as well.

OSU is working on new resistant varieties, but nothing will be released until there are multiple modes of resistance (at least 3), otherwise a new EFB strain will just get selected for again.

[nkurz]

Rather than trying to create EFB resistant European varieties (Corylus avellana), another approach is to concentrate on developing naturally-resistant American varieties (Corylus americana) with larger nuts. Since these varieties are also more cold tolerant, the hope is that this will allow a hazelnut industry in the North East. More info here: https://znutty.com/pages/about-hazelnuts (not associated, just following their work).

[hn_throwaway_99]

That to me seems like the wrong way to think about it. Of course most invasive species would come from Asia, because there was already free-flowing contact between North and South America, and there was already hundreds of years of contact between Europe and the Americas. East Asia was the place that was isolated from the Americas for the longest period of time.

I think a more interesting question is what kinds of organisms are treated as highly problematic invasive species in Asia from the Americas. That is, shouldn't we expect Asian species to be susceptible to novel American pathogens?

For example, it's famously known that diseases like small pox wiped out many Native American populations because they had no previous exposure to the disease. Perhaps less known is that it's widely hypothesized that a virulent strain of syphilis wrecked havoc in Europe after being brought back by sailors fro the Americas.

[brink]

Asia is not the only continent that's not connected by land with America.

[hn_throwaway_99]

Obviously not. But my point was that contact between America and Asia, in significant volume, happened significantly later than contact with Europe (and, by extension, North Africa, as there was always tons of contact between Europe and North Africa).

And yes, places that have been truly isolated from the Americas until relatively recently are also are places where novel invasive species and pathogens come from (e.g. HIV, Ebola).

[dubcanada]

I suppose that depends on if you consider ice to be land. Technically it is connected and there is record of travel between Russia and Alaska.

[hyperhopper]

How is Africa connected with America? How is Europe connected? Even if you count ancient ice connection, Asia is more connected than they either of those. Wtf are you talking about

[chris-orgmenta]

> Wtf are you talking about.

I request you to review and reword your comment, hyperhopper.

[hyperhopper]

I suggest you find something more substantial to complain about.

This is hackernews, respond to the core of my comment. From the guidelines:

> Please don't pick the most provocative thing in an article or post to complain about in the thread. Find something interesting to respond to instead.

(Also, ironically by commenting on the post you disable editing, so you made your own request impossible)

[chris-orgmenta]

As soon as you are able to post something non-flippantly, then I will be able to respond likewise.

I agreed with your post and could expand upon it, but your attitude does not allow for it.

My comment was a soft ball for you to improve rather than doubling down, and for us then to move forward. I do see that my comment ironically broke guidelines too. We can both be better.

[VBprogrammer]

There is an aphid which attacks grape vines that originated in North America. It's the reason that much of the European wine varieties has to be grafted onto American root to survive.

[hn_throwaway_99]

This is a great, interesting example. From the Wikipedia page on Phylloxera:

> In France alone, total wine production fell from 84.5 million hectolitres in 1875 to only 23.4 million hectolitres in 1889. Some estimates hold that between two-thirds and nine-tenths of all European vineyards were destroyed.

[sam_lowry_]

Little known fact: we lost the grape used to produce mustard before Phylloxera.

[hn_throwaway_99]

Can you explain? I don't understand, as mustard is made from the mustard plant, not grapes.

[sam_lowry_]

Mustard grains are soaked in wine vinegar nowadays.

Before phylloxera, a grape that gives a wine with high acidity was used.

It went extinct.

[sam_lowry_]

correction: mustard flour, not grains.

[coryrc]

Dijon

[sct202]

A lot of the European ones have been here so long people don't really call them invasive but they still are. Some common ones like honeybees, wild horses, pigs (boar), rats, mice, feral cats.

[jandrewrogers]

Also earthworms:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_earthworms_of_North_A...

[eesmith]

Acclimatisation societies were part of European colonization efforts, often to make the rest of the world more Europe-like. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acclimatisation_society

> The appeal of acclimatisation societies in colonies, particularly Australia and New Zealand,[12] was the belief that the local fauna was in some way deficient or impoverished. There was also an element of nostalgia in the desire of European colonists to see familiar species.[13] An Australian settler, J. Martin, complained in 1830 that the "trees retained their leaves and shed their bark instead, the swans were black, the eagles white, the bees were stingless, some mammals had pockets, others laid eggs, it was warmest on the hills..." It was there that the desire to make the land feel more like England was strongest.

For example, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Schieffelin

> Eugene Schieffelin ... became chairman of the American Acclimatization Society and joined their efforts to introduce non-native species to North America for economic and cultural reasons. His 1890 release of European starlings in Central Park resulted in the first successful starling nesting in North America to be observed by naturalists.

Here's more about his organization, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Acclimatization_Socie...

> In 1864 the commissioners of Central Park had introduced Java sparrows, house sparrows, chaffinches and blackbirds into the park. The European sparrows were reported to have "multiplied amazingly". They quickly became one of the most common birds in New York, though the others did not seem to do as well. After the society's founding, such efforts were redoubled. The group's annual meeting held at the Great New York Aquarium in 1877[4] reported that the release of 50 pairs of English skylarks into Central Park had only been a partial success, since most had flown across the East River to take up residence at Newtown and Canarsie in Brooklyn. At the meeting, the recent release of European starlings, Japanese finches and pheasants into the park were noted. The meeting adjourned with the group resolved to introduce more chaffinches, skylarks, European robins and tits—"birds which were useful to the farmer and contributed to the beauty of the groves and fields"—in the city.[5]

[poulpy123]

The potato blight of the Irish famine came from south America, and the phylloxera that destroyed the french wine at the beginning of the 20th century came from north America.

[Amezarak]

Potatoes themselves came from South America, so I don't know if that should really count.

[h4l]

In the UK our native squirrels are red, but they're almost extinct because North American grey squirrels out-compete them.

[qup]

We have some native red squirrels in parts of America, too. Not like yours, though. Ours are big and fat, slow, and terrible decision makers. They get run over at incredible rates. The greys seem (barely) smarter.

At least your airgunners get some fun. I didn't realize your reds were nearing extinction.

I'm really surprised we haven't figured out better ways of manipulating these invasive populations. Everything seems ineffective, and sometimes disastrous.

[eesmith]

One of the most invasive species is the domestic house cat. It has exterminated many species of animals and kills untold billions of animals each year.

It was domesticated in the Near East, so technically from Asia, I guess?

You mentioned Burmese pythons, which are invasive in the Everglades and Florida in general. Do you know about the Australian plant species Melaleuca quinquenervia? From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melaleuca_quinquenervia :

> Its unchecked expansion in South Florida is one of the most serious threats to the integrity of the native ecosystem.[25] This tree takes over sawgrass marshes in the Everglades turning the area into a swamp.[26] Melaleuca causes severe ecological impacts, including displacing native species, modification of hydrology, alteration of soil resources, reducing native habitat value and changing the fire regime.[27]

Quite a few invasive species, like the Australian pines, were deliberately introduced to South Florida to try and tame the Everglades. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_invasive_species_in_th...

[human_person]

Does the reverse also happen? Are there North American species devastating parts of Asia?

[buildsjets]

Off the top of my head, Marmokrebs, the north american crayfish capable of asexual reproduction, is invasive in China, Taiwan, and Japan, although more prevalent in Europe.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marbled_crayfish

[lagniappe]

Cajun here, I'd just like to interject that those taste great

[eesmith]

Looking through https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_invasive_species_in_As...

> Lantana camara (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant within the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics ... it was brought to Europe by Dutch explorers and cultivated widely, soon spreading further into Asia and Oceania where it has established itself as a notorious weed, ... L. camara is listed in the IUCN's “List of the world's 100 worst invasive species”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantana_camara

The list at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_of_the_World's_Worst_Invas... includes

> Cecropia peltata - Invasive in Malaysia, Africa, and Pacific Islands. Native to tropical Central and South America

> Chromolaena odorata - Invasive in tropical Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. Native to Neotropics.

> Euglandina rosea - Invasive in Indian and Pacific Ocean islands. Native to the southeastern United States.

> Leucaena leucocephala - Native to Central America, invasive throughout other tropical regions.

> Lithobates catesbeianus (American bullfrog) - Invasive in Central and South America, the Caribbean, Western Europe, and East Asia. Native to eastern North America.

> Micropterus salmoides (widemouth bass) - Invasive worldwide. Native to the eastern United States

> Mikania micrantha - Invasive in the Pacific. Native to Neotropics. ["Pacific" here includes "Nepal, covering more than 20% of the Chitwan National Park", says https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikania_micrantha]

I stopped at this point. There may be a few I missed or didn't get to.

[darth_avocado]

That is because the history of contact between NA and Europe is older than Asia and Europe. A lot of invasives from Europe are endemic to NA.

Common Tumbleweed, Zebra Mussel, English Ivy, all the different lawn grasses, cats, wild pigs etc. are all European invasives that are now part of the NA ecosystem.

[nilamo]

I wonder how much of that is due to the climate of the area, vs messaging (maybe when it's not from Asia, an origin is not mentioned?)

[wonnage]

Kind of like how Spanish flu originated in the US