preview

Invasive Species Invasive Species

Decent Essays

An organism that is non-native to an ecosystem can be defined as an “invasive” species. Animals, plants, and fungi can all be considered invasive, exotic, or alien species if they are not originally from that habitat. “These intruders alter the pathways of native organisms by competitive exclusion, niche displacement, hybridization, introgression predation, and in severe cases extinction” (Mooney 2001). Invasive species can severely and adversely affect populations of native species. Foreign organisms can be studied around the globe and dedicated ecologists have the responsibility of studying how these non-native species are impacting ecosystems. There are many ways that a species may become introduced into a new ecosystem. Human activity has long played a role in the translocation of many types of plants and animals. Throughout time humans have transported species across land, sea, and sky for recreational purposes, medicinal purposes, and aesthetic purposes. Though the human species is largely responsible for species translocation, we are not the only cause. Abiotic forces like the wind and sea play a large role in transporting various organisms and seeds to new and far lands. Not all introduced species are bad and some have proven to be quite beneficial to new ecosystems. Though there are beneficial introduced species, more tend to hurt existing ecosystems rather than help it. “When introduced species exploit a specific species trait or fill a vacant niche in an

Get Access