Invasive Species: Ethnographic Study

The Columbian Exchange irrevocably homogenized the world’s biological landscape Since, Columbus, the number of plant and animal species has continually diminished. And the variation in species from place to place have diminished dramatically. The first European visitors to the Americas had never seen a tomato or a catfish; Native Americans had never seen a horse, and by making our plants biologically singular, the Columbian Exchange completely remade the populations of animals, particularly humans.

After attending the “Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Ecosystem Sustainability Conference,” I learned about the ecological issues that Native Americans faced when individuals outside of their community appropriated land towards other means of production. Similarly, the speaker Delphine Jackson had discussed how her community was being disturbed by the construction of dams and highways, which destroyed the environment where animals lived and thrived. Additionally, the speaker Valeria A. Small explained the issues of their culture being impeded by an invasive plant that was established by non-native people. Getting their voices heard was not an easy task, for many of the people who created the newly developed roads and embedded the invasive plant species were seeing reality differently than the natives in the sense that the land was meant to be used

Luckily, humans have put in efforts to understand and sometimes reverse the damage done. Wilcove describes ecosystem restoration, where usually humans put concentrated effort into recreating original habitats to restore indigenous populations. This is, unless “a very different assemblage of species has taken hold of the land and cannot be dislodged,” also known as a new “steady state” (Wilcove, 2000, p. 12). Wilcove himself joined the effort by studying the impacts humans have caused on woodland critters. He surveyed an area in Maryland to detect predators by setting cardboard coated in masonry powder to record footprints. He concluded that there were “six predators: opossum, raccoon, striped skunk, dog, cat, and blue jay. All are animals that benefit mightily from their association with people”(Wilcove, 2000, p. 42). He also mentions how extensive data can only be collected when looking at the observations of many people over the generations. He talks about “generational blindness,” which means how observers of a current generation cannot make conclusions on populations without the help of data collected from the past (Wilcove, 2000, p. 13).

Throughout the life cycle of the Earth our continents have been constantly changing. Causing animals and plants that may of once shared a habitat to split and evolve separately. The exploration of the new world created a bridge over the separation creating unity between continents called the Columbian exchange. Plants animals and the dreaded disease were spread and continue to wherever the European, and future explorers step and beyond. This event is the most significant ecological event to happen in the past hundreds of thousands of years. Bringing men and women across continents pioneering the unknown and taking roots into land that once was thought not to be their. From all over Africans Chinese Europeans and The Spanish settled and explored bringing with them their biology ideas and goods and bringing back the same from the native populations. Expressed in three words Alfred w. Crosby describes the entire process calling it “global biological homogeneity”.

We as humans were put on this earth to survive along with many other species. Some may argue that humans are the masters of the world and at the top of the food chain. The truth is that humans are soft, relatively weak, and have no sharp fangs or claws to protect themselves. Our most deadly weapon for defense is our brain. The world is a beautiful place with fragile checks and balances that make it all go around. Ecosystems thrive on the simplest organisms that are a food source for larger plants and animals. These fragile ecosystems have been a part of this world since the beginning. The human population is encroaching into the forests and other habitats where plants and animals live. The world is

Most of the time people bring non-native species into new environment by purpose. The people who bring them to their new environments mostly aren’t aware that they could harm their new surroundings. When trying to reverse the effects of an invasive species it could take years. It takes volunteers hours upon hours to dig up plants, trap, scare away, burn, poison, and animal proof areas to prevent an invasive species from spreading. Introducing a non-native species into a new environment is like introducing fire to

By taking action, people will eliminate the problem in a shorter, more effective manor. One article states, “Since people can now travel around the world much more easily than they ever could before, it has become easier to introduce invasive species by accident,” (Alien Attack, paragraph 5). This demonstrates how quickly species can spread with the help of humans. People need to eliminate these species faster in order to save ecosystems. Overall, humans need to remove all invasive species before they take over the ecosystems of the world.

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

Significance: The question of whether or not invasive species impact the environment is an important one. The answer affects everyone. In today’s world, we take the outdoors for granted. People don’t realize how much it does for us. It provides economical resources, areas to relax, and oxygen for us to breathe. Without these simple things our lives would change drastically. Life as we

The first example of human manipulation of changes within the biosphere is through expansion. The rapid growth of the population has led to expansion in development; the need for more space is causing strain on other living organisms such as plants and animals. Human procurement of forest, grass, and wetlands has weighed on the animal population heavily. As a result of this domination, animals have lost areas they use to thrive in, causing migration and in more serious cases extinction. Animals are a prevalent source of protein for humans, and when a species is threatened by extinction, it not only disrupts the balance of the ecosystem, but it also disrupts the food chain. The more resources that are required to sustain human life, the bigger the need to migrate to surrounding areas in a short period of time (Haines).

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

A new controversy has arisen, arguing that not all invasive species are bad, and that they can improve diversity and the resilience of ecosystems. I however, believe that the risks substantially outweigh the benefits, and therefore invasive species should not be encouraged. Although it is true that not all introduced species have negative effects and completely destroy their new ecosystem. An example where an introduced species had a positive effect was the himalayan blackberry, that provided fruit to local wildlife and people. However, the plant crowded out native species in a competition for sun and nutrients. Another example is the scotch broom, a plant that is known for its bright yellow flower. It was introduced to beautify the landscape

My aquatic invasive species is the water chestnut. Though it is not too common in Indiana waters, it is on the invasive species list, due to the prediction that it will quickly become a threat. It is an aquatic plant native to Eurasia. Currently, it is naturalized in North America and Australia. The states that it is most common in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, and others on the eastern coast.

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.