BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 9th to 15th March 2020
Telling the stories of non-native invasive species and our complicated attitudes to them and with an uncertain political future how do we police our ecological borders?
NATURE'S GREAT INVADERS - 1. GREY SQUIRREL (320kbs-m4a/32mb/14mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 9th March 2020
The grey squirrel is considered one of the worlds greatest natural invaders. It's been on UK shores for over a hundred years and it's two million strong population dwarfs that of our native red squirrel. It is maligned by many, but does the grey squirrel deserve its reputation as an unstoppable invader? Derek Mooney intends to find out.
NATURE'S GREAT INVADERS - 2. JAPANESE KNOTWEED (320kbs-m4a/32mb/14mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 10th March 2020
Japanese knotweed evolved to grow on the slopes of Japanese volcanoes. It's harsh home makes it a thug of a plant outside it's natural range with a seemingly magical ability grow in the most unlikely places. In the more than 100 years since a few female specimens were brought to UK shores as an ornamental garden plant it has spread across the country and is now probably the most hated plant in the UK. But is it really the Great Invader we believe it to be? Derek Mooney intends to find out.
NATURE'S GREAT INVADERS - 3. HARLEQUIN LADYBIRD (320kbs-m4a/32mb/14mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 11th March 2020
In the 10 years since the harlequin ladybird first hopped across the English Channel its spread has been scrutinised by an army of scientists and amateur naturalists. Its rapid colonisation has given it the unfortunate title of the world's fastest invader. Derek Mooney talks to ladybird expert Dr Helen Roy to find out how this little beetle came to be a great invader.
NATURE'S GREAT INVADERS - 4. RING-NECKED PARAKEET (320kbs-m4a/32mb/14mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 12th March 2020
In many parts of the world including its native range the ring-necked parakeet is considered an invasive species. In the UK we still think of it as either an exotic curiosity or local nuisance. Should we be worried or continue to welcome this unlikely addition to British bird life?
NATURE'S GREAT INVADERS - 5. ASH DIEBACK FUNGUS (320kbs-m4a/31mb/13mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 13th March 2020
When trees infected with the ash-dieback fungus were first recorded in the UK in early 2012 there was widespread alarm. Four and a half years later are we closer to knowing what the final toll will be on our ash trees and with an uncertain political future how do we limit the risks posed by other invisible invaders?
