National parks are being overrun by invasive species
The coquistodores hunt at night.
Wearing headlamps and muck boots, the band of volunteer conservationists trudges into dark forests in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and surrounding communities, turning over leaves and shining lights on tree trunks. Their quarry is a tiny frog called the coqui. No bigger than a quarter, the coqui makes an ear-splitting call as loud as a lawn mower: Ko-kee! Ko-kee! It takes special know-how and fortitude to home in on a frog in a blackened forest ringing with frog calls. But the coquistodores are efficient cutthroats. When they find a coqui, they catch it, and drench it in citric acid, killing it.
The coqui is an invasive species in Hawaii, where it has no predators and plenty of insects to eat. The small brown treefrog likely hitchhiked in plants or other goods shipped from its native Puerto Rico, where the animal is beloved, inspiring songs and poetry. Beyond their homeland, however, coquis are widely considered a persistent plague.
The Hawaiian government estimates that in areas of the islands where coquis have gotten a firm toehold, the population can be as dense as 20,000 frogs to an acre, more than double their average densities in Puerto Rico. As a result, the animals are transforming the landscape, angering homeowners, and damaging the ecosystem.
“Hawaiian forests are characterized by their quiet,” perhaps because they developed in such isolation from the rest of the world, says park ecologist David Benitez. “The coquis shatter that. They also prey on native insects in the forest, and that may be affecting the food source for endemic birds.”
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/north-america/united-states/national-parks/invasive-species-threaten-native-plants-and-animals-visitors-can-help/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=Compass_20200822&rid=FB26C926963C5C9490D08EC70E179424
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