An Essay About Invasive Species

An invasive species is a species that comes out of its natural environment, and enters another. These animals are usually very bad for the ecosystem and may cause an unbalance. These animals usually come in with many competitive advantages and can easily dominate any competition. This will give them the ability to eat as much as they would like without being threatened in any way. This could possibly diminish many populations and end an entire ecosystem.

What makes something invasive? Is it when the object takes over? When it reproduces to a great extent? When it takes over all of your space? These are all aspects of an "invasive" thing. Invaders cause other tiny problems along the path of their destruction that can be difficult to control. In Mark Sanchez's, "The Invaders," and Aaron Hartman's, "Kudzu: From Pretty Vine to Invasive Pest", two plants, the milfoil and kudzu, are taking over. These invasive weeds have more than just being invasive in common with each other, they also share a hand full of dissimilarities. These plants have gobs of similarities and differences between each other.

Invasive species make bad situations into worse situations. Having a species from a different ecosystem makes them invasive species. Such as a toad or even bacteria being in another ecosystem other than their natural habitat.

One environmental issue that the great lakes watershed has been exposed to is invasive species. An invasive species is any organism that is foreign to an ecosystem and causes harm (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2016). In ordered to be classified as foreign they do not have to be from a different country but they just must be a non-native to an established ecosystem. Some of the species travel at their own will but they primarily spread through human activities unintentionally. As we import and export goods, or travel, some uninvited species may ride along and travel to new places. Organisms can be stowed away in ships or products like wood. Some ornamental plants may

Invasive species are very common all over the world. Invasive species are an organism that lives in an ecosystem in which they don’t belong. Invasive species are not only dangerous to people, but also the ecosystem and must be removed.

Invasive species come in many forms; they can be plants, animals, insects, fish, fungus, organisms, and bacteria. Invasive plants are those which cause environmental, economic and human harm and originate from another area or region. They are a complex and difficult problem to tackle. There are more than 4,000 plants species found in Florida, of those 1300 or more are non-native or invasive. Many invasive species are taking over Florida’s waterways disrupting their natural ecosystem by outgrowing and replacing Florida’s native plants. Relieving the damage they cause is not easy, but scientists and members of the communities being affected are finding that it is achievable, as long as everyone works as a team to address the issue.

What is an invasive species? An invasive species is a species not native to an area, in this case not native to the Great Lakes area. A non-native species is a species that originally was not in a certain location but was brought there and causes a lot of damage. An invasive species also is a great danger to the environment and can cause damage to humans, plants, and animals. In Illinois and the Great Lakes area there are more than 180 invasive and non-native species. That means a lot of damage is made into our environment. One particular invasive species is Agrilus planipennis, more commonly known as emerald ash borer.

There are many creative ways the of invasive species is being addressed and they are a problem. There are many different problems with invasive species. There might be problems with invasive species, but people are coming up with fun and different ways the problem can be addressed. Pythons, wild pigs, and red foxes are all a danger to different wild life. There will continually be more species even if everyone thinks they are gone, they will come back every time even if it is a different

Invasive species don’t just cause monetary damage, they can completely disrupt and destroy ecosystems. Invasive predators like the brown tree snake can hunt native species to extinction because these species have not evolved defences against them. Even herbivores can cause indirect damage by feeding on the same plants as native herbivores therefore taking away their food sources. Plants can cause damage as well. Through various strategies they can take over the land where native plants would normally grow diminishing native plant populations. No matter what kind of creature an invasive species is it can still cause damage.

Burmese pythons have overtaken the natural ecosystem of Florida’s Everglades. Ever since 2002 the Burmese pythons have been breeding and spreading throughout Florida. They are now considered an invasive species. The reason why is because along with the African Rock python, Burmese python came from a different country so they aren’t native to Florida or anywhere in the U.S.

Introduced species are seldom a positive addition to an ecosystem as they cause great stress and harm to the populations of native species. Many introduced species become invasive as they have no natural predators in their new environment, therefore they thrive, and crowd out all other animals. Some examples of invasive species in Ontario waters include the round goby, zebra mussels, eurasian ruffe, goldfish, northern snakehead, rainbow smelt, and rudd, to name a few. A great example to show how destructive an introduced fish can be is the asian carp, this species spreads very aggressively and it is considered the greatest threat to aquatic ecosystems in Ontario. These fish grow to be very large in size, up to 40 kg and 1 meter long. The asian

Common species include, Hydrilla, Water Chestnuts, Eurasian Watermilfoil, Asian Clam, Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, Emerald Ash borer and Giant Hogweed. With no natural predators against the species they are able to overpopulate and alter the ecosystem. Doing more damage then just plants getting stuck in your boat propellers but the invasive species can kill of aquatic life.

Influence on ecosystems range from human causes like the bulldozing of a forest to natural causes like a fire or a flood.  In recent times, the introduction and spread of invasive species has transformed native communities rapidly and, in some cases, created irreversible damages.  In the Earth’s history, changes have often occurred in the ecosystems.  For example, glaciers and the retreat of glaciers cause wide-spread changes.  However, although change is a constant in ecosystems, animals and habitats often cannot adapt to the rapid alterations of non-natural stresses.  Harm to the environment from the introduction of invasive species occurs through changes in the habitat and declines in the native species.  Invasive species

The situation with the invasive plant and non-native animals in Florida is an actual problem that not only affects the native plants and animal but, the overall ecosystem. In addition, this problem can cause economic and environmental repercussions. Moreover, because the climate in Florida is favorable to the rapid growth of the non-native species, the native species have difficulty reproducing and surviving.

The biodiversity effects of non-native invasive species have been described as “immense, insidious and usually irreversible” (Veitch and Clout, 2002). There is significant evidence proving that invasive species can cause severe economic, environmental and ecological damage (Mack et al., 2000). A lot of time and research has been devoted to dividing the world into regions with distinctive habitats and species. Numerous pathways, mostly anthropogenic, are breaking down these realms and facilitating the ecological and biological invasion of non-native species.