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Negative Effects Of Black Tiger Shrimp

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In addition to inbreeding and demographic stochasticity, it has long been known that invasive species can cause drastic and often irreparable changes to native ecosystems, including the decline of indigenous species of both fauna and flora. In fact, invasive species have directly contributed to the decline of an estimated 42 percent of threatened and endangered species in the United States (Dilthey, 2017). Some of these invasive species are widely known, such as Dreissena polymorpha, the Zebra mussel, which has endangered at least 30 species of mussel, including Higgins Eye Pearlymussel (Magher, n.d.). Others are not so commonly known, like Penaeus monodon, the Black Tiger shrimp, which was first found in the Gulf of Mexico as recently as 2006 (Buchele, 2006).
The Black Tiger shrimp (also known as the Giant Tiger prawn) is native to the Pacific ocean, can reach up to one foot in length and one pound in weight, and feeds primarily on crabs and smaller species of shrimp (Shilcutt, 2011). There are several theories on how these massive invertebrates first ended up in the Gulf Coast, but so far researchers are still looking for a definitive answer. Now that they are here, though, they have had a tremendous negative impact on other, smaller species of shrimp. Due to their large size and aggressive nature, they are able to easily outcompete native populations, as well as spread exotic diseases that indigenous shrimp are not able to fend off. After the local shrimp have died out,

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