Hydrocleys nymphoides (water poppy), an aquatic plant native to South America, has been recorded as invasive on several continents (Europe, Australia and Asia). Here we report on the first known naturalized population in South Africa, in a dam in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Midlands region, near the town of Howick. This population, first detected and identified in 2009, had by the end of the 2013 summer season occupied 1.8ha (30% of the dam). Surveys of 34 surrounding water bodies during the period between 2012 and 2013 did not result in detection of any new populations. The only other population (0.1 ha) was recorded growing in cultivation at the Durban Botanic Gardens. This note reports on the history of H. nymphoides in South Africa, details its current and potential distribution, looks at the risk it poses, and outlines plans for nation-wide eradication.

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In this study, the reproductive biology of the silver stripe blaasop; Lagocephalus sceleratus (Lessepsian pufferfish) from the Mediterranean waters, Egypt was investigated during 2014 using 795 specimens in order to fill the current gap in knowledge of such important species and the relation to its rapid distribution and impact on its new ecosystem. The results revealed that the percentage of males was slightly higher than that of females, representing 52.44% of all individuals, with a sex ratio of 1:0.91 (M: F). Fish length at first sexual maturity (Lm=50% maturation) was lower in males (38.5cm) than females (41cm). The elevation of gonad somatic index (GSI) indicates that the spawning season extends from April to September. The ripe ova diameter was ranged from 0.5 to 0.82 mm, which occurred during the spawning period with a clear one peak towards the last months of spawning. Absolute fecundity increased as the fish grew in length and weight; it ranged from 260288 to 2372931 with an average of 1449522±720975. The relative fecundity ranged from 5784 to 32,957 for fish lengths ranging from a group (43-45) to (70-72 cm), with an average of 24,478 ±10,011, while it ranged from 698 to 3285 g, with an average of 776±231eggs for fish weight range (373 to 722 g). Histologically, this species is considered a totally or unispawner, spawns a synchronous group, and releases the ripe ova in one batch during the spawning season. The present results reflect the successful reproduction and high fecundity, explaining its success and rapid spread of L. sceleratus in its new ecosystem of the Mediterranean Sea companied with the social impact on the fisheries community and probabilities of toxic cases occurrence. This work is recommended to be used in further studies on pufferfish species, which need intensive attention in different scientific fields for various purposes.