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Piano grass (Themeda arguens), reputed to have been introduced to Jamaica as packing material in an imported piano1 . There are about 27 varieties of this highly invasive grass/weed worldwide[1] and in Jamaica the species previously identified as Themeda arguens is of concern as it has progressively taken over lawns, pastures and roadsides [1]. The grass is of particular concern to livestock farmers due to its highly invasive and aggressive nature and the concomitant negative effect on livestock productivity, especially during its annual seeding period (November/December – April) [2], when the palatability of the grass diminishes significantly and the seed awns can cause severe damage to the mouth when consumed, and feet of livestock [2], sometimes requiring veterinary intervention.
Invasive alien species (IAS) are implicated in the extinction or decline of numerous native aquatic species worldwide. Their negative impacts occur through mechanisms including habitat alteration, competition, predation, hybridisation, and the spread of disease (Strayer et al. 2006). Small island ecosystems are most susceptible to the impacts of IAS. Once established, freshwater IAS are difficult to eradicate without negatively impacting native species.
Benzylideneanilines, the condensation products of benzaldehyde and aniline derivatives, have enjoyed significant success as optical metal ion sensors due to their ability to form stable metal complexes which exhibit distinct spectral features compared to the unbound compound. However, their use in aqueous media is limited by the hydrolytic susceptibility of the C=N moiety. Hence, an in-depth investigation into the hydrolytic degradation mechanism of a series of 2-aminophenol derived Nbenzylideneanilines was conducted wherein molecular modelling techniques were applied to elucidate the “step-by-step” transformation mechanism of these compounds from a fundamental perspective.
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