Invasive Species Effects

The Maryland ecosystem is being ravaged by several invasive species. These species are introduced into the ecosystem in several ways, with several discoveries of invasive species every year. Whether it be Wavyleaf basketgrass or Purple loosestrife, these plants are capable of outcompeting with native plants and causing devastation to the native ecosystem. These invasive species are damaging to the environment and we should work as a community to halt the spread and limit its impact on the ecosystem of Maryland.

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 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.

Issue: The environmental issue that I have chosen is the impact that invasive species have on the environment. The impact that invasive species have on the environment is vast, yet little is done about it. This issue is extremely important and will impact the world for generations to come. In this paper, I hope to learn about the effect they have on environment and what we can do about it.

Biodiversity boots ecosystem productivity where every little species plays an important role in maintaining a healthy community. Maintaining a viable habitat requires lots of efforts, determination and frequency. Invasive plants are a major threat to our natural environment. These invasions change the natural diversity and balance of ecological communities. They threaten the survival of many plants and animals. They are excellent at surviving and reproducing which out-compete the native plants. Understanding these huge consequences let us understand why volunteer activities like this are so helpful and needed. They play a huge part in contributing to our environment in many positive ways. Removing these invasive plants are helping a lot in restoring the habitat and giving native plants greater chance for survival. As time went by, these efforts will slowly help cleaning our atmosphere, providing our environment with fresh air and improve health effects in human (Sagoff,

Georgia has been invaded by numerous species that are known as harmful exotic plants and animals. It is so costly to attempt to control invasive species and the damages they inflict cost the United States annually an estimated $137 billion (Georigia Invasive Species Task Force, 2005). For example, in South Georgia there is an estimate of 7 million acres of Kudzu vine that originated in Japan and China. The damage that arises with the Kudzu vine is that it grows up to one foot per day and overgrows and shades out trees, covers houses, barns and road signs (Georigia Invasive Species Task Force, 2005). In order to make this a top priority some things congress needs to change is the revision of current United States policy on importation of live plants and animals and when considering, reviewing, or approving trade agreements they address specific invasive species. In addition, the implementation of prescribed burnings in areas with invasive species will help eliminate and control the spreading of such invasive species.

For example, the cross-pollination of these edited plants to weed species could lead to a complete takeover in an ecosystem, not unlike the effects of kudzu. Likewise, the fact that these plants are so resistant to natural threats could easily lead to occurrences not unlike those regarding invasive species, where non-native plants replace native plants in the local ecology. It could even be said that much of an area’s specific tradition could be lost to the growth of these new crops, as the people in these areas would no longer depend on the native crops, instead adopting the agriculture of Western society. This potential annihilation by plant life is a prime example of takeover by technology, not unlike the story of “The

An invasive species is a plant, animal, or fungi that is not native to a certain area. These species can cause great damage to an ecosystem, human economy, human health, and other species that are native to the area.

From the smallest fly to the blue whale, from a blade of grass to a towering redwood, everything exploits the natural resources that Earth and its other inhabitants provide. In order to ensure its survival, an organism must assimilate itself into the food web or risk extinction at the hand of natural selection. Sometimes, a species is accidentally or purposefully introduced into a new area. These newcomers, commonly known as invasive species have no choice but to make themselves a part of the food web or die out. Unfortunately, that usually leads to fierce competition for resources between a local species and the invasive one, in which only the victor is allowed to survive. In a relatively short amount of time, the sudden pressure on resources can completely upset and destroy an ecosystem, taking the invasive species with it. With the invasive species destroyed, the ecosystem can slowly rebuild back to the way it was before. According to National Geographic, an invasive species is a “type of plant or animal that is not indigenous to a particular area and causes economic or environmental harm.” (National Geographic).[6] Based on that definition, humans sound suspiciously like an invasive species, except on a global scale. If humanity does not decide to become more sustainable soon, we will suffer the same fate as other invasive species: extinction. Luckily, the pressures of human exploitation of the environment for resources can be mostly eliminated through the use of

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

When any of the species’ mentioned above are released into the wild where they are not native, they have a chance to become an invasive species. According to the Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area or CISMA, invasive species are “nonnative plants or animals that cause harm to the environment, economy, or human health” (CISMA, 2017). Invasive species are normally brought to a new area by people who want to own exotic pets or have plants that will survive in extreme weather. When the conditions are favorable to the species it can survive much better than the native species. If the species happens to find a mate to reproduce, it can grow in population rapidly. One example of this is the rabbit population on the island of Macquarie where the population went from 20,000 to 130,000 in just six

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.

Invasive species are organisms that are not native to an ecosystem and cause harm to it. These organisms are capable of bringing about a great deal of damage to the ecosystems they are foreign to. This can range from disrupting the growth of the environment it has taken over to completely decimating other species. The introduction of invasive species to new environments often involves humans. The way that invasive species are introduced to a new environment varies greatly. Invasive species may be introduced by something as simple as humans accidentally tracking species into a new environment from the bottom of their shoes, or something bigger like destroying an ecosystem to clear the land, forcing the species that lived there to flee to a new ecosystem that can be disrupted by the presence of a new species.