Fairfax, VA, USA. Mark Twain said that the first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 365 days of the year. I don’t know much about that (or about history or geometry or the French I took), but I do know a news story when I see it.

 

You might think I am an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers. Take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from a consciousness faithfully performed, dear readers. I have assembled a veritable triptych of curiosities I think you will find interesting. Or maybe not.

 

Read on.

 

But be aware all ye that enter here that this is not the Ides, not even close.

Fairfax, VA, USA. Despite recent empirical and theoretical breakthroughs, the structure of the web of life that connects living things is still relatively unknown and remains vulnerable to the perturbations of invasive alien species, including changes to real world biological communities (e.g. HBS men and women) brought about by human activities (e.g., the transgender political agenda).

 

Invasive species are a key cause of biodiversity loss resulting from their frequent dominance of habitats and the elimination of native species through predation.

 

 

Although the connectivity of the social network may remain unaltered by invasion, the members change from native to alien as the aliens engage in asymmetric interactions as the invasion progresses. The alien species goal is to become the web’s central nodes and alter the structural attributes of the network, particularly in the advanced stages of the invasion. Invader-dominated webs generally resist restoration (normalization) of interaction among the native species to their previous uninvaded state.