Hey! It's Squeaky New! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Freezing them

Cane toads were brought to Australia to take care of pests eating the sugar cane crop. The cane toad has endangered the quoll, a small mammal that eats frogs and toads. Quolls do not realize that the cane toad is poisonous and die when they eat them. The poison sacs that cover the cane toad's body cause problems when trying to kill them. Killing the adult cane toads with force releases the deadly poison because the sacs are extremely sensitive. You can pick one up gently and place it in the freezer. The next day it can be placed in the garbage bin for collection.

Scientists have suggested that the best way to prevent and contain the cane toad infestation is to go after the tadpoles and eggs. That has its own challenges as female cane toads lay their eggs in water and the eggs are spread out through the waterways, making them difficult to wipe out.

Answer: To increase honey production

The main problem with the Africanized honeybee is mainly fear. Movies, such as "The Swarm" (1978) caused a stir about giant killer bees from Africa that is entirely untrue. The Africanized honeybee was introduced to Brazil in 1950 and escaped from their apiary in 1957. Those bees, however, have proven to be more useful than their European counterparts in honey production and pollination as they work harder, longer and faster.

Answer: The United States

This is particularly a problem along the eastern coast of the United States in cities that receive international flights from Africa. Collectors like to keep the snails in tanks as pets, but often find they are too difficult to take of and release them.

The giant African land snail can lay up to 1,200 eggs at a time, and since they do not have natural predators in the United States, populations have grown out of control. The snails have also spread into the Caribbean where they are also growing rapidly and damaging the fragile ecosystem there.

Answer: Asian carp

The term "Asian carp" refers to certain species of carp (such as the black or silver varieties) from Asia. Other Asian carp had already been imported to the U.S. without incident. These invasive Asian carps were brought into the Southern states in the 1970s as an easy way to clean fish ponds.

However, by the 1990s, several dozen escaped and started moving up the Mississippi. These Asian carp are a danger to the common carp found in the Great Lakes, with the latter being a huge commercial industry in the Great Lake states that is at risk of being decimated.

Answer: They rip fishing nets apart

Lionfish tend to prey on any smaller fish, including those eaten by humans, and thus, pose a risk to the commercial fishing industry. Their barbs contain a toxic venom that can cause anaphylaxis, heart attacks, vomiting and other symptoms in humans if they are stepped on, an increased threat because they reproduce quickly. Lionfish populations have grown by 700% since they were introduced into the Atlantic when Hurricane Andrew demolished a Florida aquarium in 1992.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has suggested that the lionfish problem can be corrected and controlled by a campaign to promote eating them. The lionfish meat itself is not poisonous, so as long as it has been properly prepared.

Answer: Cultural purposes

The society wanted to promote the works of Shakespeare by releasing all of the birds mentioned in his plays into North America. While they do not pose a significant problem to other birds, the starlings cause problems for historical buildings, particularly in New York where they were first released.

The starlings like to build their nests in protected landmarks and in people's houses. They were also blamed for the mysterious decline of the bluebird, but this was proved untrue in 2003.

Answer: Because the local crayfish species had been decimated

The local crayfish population in Kenya had been nearly wiped out by disease. The Cajun crayfish, however, are an entirely different species and threaten the commercial fishing industry. They also burrow underground and have been blamed for the collapse of several earthen dams.

A proposed solution is to remove the thick weeds and plants along the water where the crayfish live. Birds will see them and eat them, thus removing them from Africa.

Answer: True

Burmese pythons will eat almost anything that it finds. The alligator, however, is considered a predator of the python and they pose mutual threats to each other. In 2006, a Burmese python was discovered dead in the Everglades after it swallowed a whole alligator, but it had apparently exploded as a result.

The alligator also died. The main problem with the python in the Everglades is that they eat some of the protected mammals that live there, like the bobcat.

Answer: The Caspian and Black Seas

The zebra mussel first spread into Hungary in 1794 and continued on from there. By the 1920s, they had reached as far north as Scotland and Sweden. The main concern with the zebra mussels is that they have microscopic larva which get sucked into water cleaning and collection systems. They then grow full-sized and clog up drains and sewers.

Answer: Their painful stings that cause blisters

Red fire ants were likely introduced to other locations inadvertently on shipping containers. The Food and Drug Administration states that Americans spend over $5 billion on medical treatment and losses because of the ants. In Australia, the discovery of a fire ant nest caused part of Port Botany to be quarantined until the fire ants could be removed from that shipping port.

The Queensland government estimates that it could lose up to $43 billion dollars in revenue if the ants are not taken care of.