Many are unaware of where invasive species originate from and what exactly is their motive. Approximately 200 years ago, invasive species were introduced to the United States in many forms such as plants, animals, and aquatic organisms (Armantrout 199-201). They are described as an alienated organism which could potentially cause harm to an environment or to one’s personal health. Invasive species have grown exponentially in different environments and research has shown that an invasive plant species has grown so large that it is equivalent to the size of Delaware, with plant invasion being as large as 100 acres. Invasive species could have negative effects, causing population declines or even more harmful consequences such as the extinction of a certain species (Lowe S. 3). Furthermore, invasive species should be eliminated due to the unbeneficial outcomes they have created thus far by creating stricter rules to eliminate unintentional outbreak cases of invasive species.
Anoplolepis gracilipes, better known as crazy ants, invaded areas such as Hawaii and Zanzibar in which the crazy ants have formed multiple queen-level super-colonies in the rainforest and oceans on Christmas Island. Over the course of just 18 months, crazy ants killed at least 18 million red crabs who contributed a major role in their environment on the island (Lowe S. 4). When the words invasive species are mentioned it could never mean a good thing because many, if not all invasive species will
Humans are faced with the issues caused by invasive species and must make a decision. What should we do? Should we step in and rid the ecosystems of these harmful species? Or should we let nature solve its own problem? I believe humans must take action in stopping these invasive plants from destroying ecosystems, attracting more invasive animals, and harming the native wildlife.
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.
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.
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 world is under attack; by aliens from our own planet. These aliens are known as invasive species. Government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have identified invasive species as living organisms that are not native to an ecosystem and their introduction can cause harm to the environment, infrastructure, and people. When these creatures are in their natural ecosystem they can be held in check by predators and other organisms that have evolved to deal with them. Without these opponents invasive species can and will cause economic and biological damage to the area they are introduced to. Invasive species can affect anyone and anything and they must
According to Silent Spring, the United States Office of Plant Introduction has introduced about 200,000 species of plants from around the world, and almost half of the 180 major insect enemies of plants are accidental imports. According to Campbell’s Biology Textbook, these imported animals are known as invasive species, organisms that become established outside their native range. Carson states that often when a species is brought to an area they are not native to, the lack of natural enemies causes the species to become dominant and extremely abundant. These invasions are likely to be permanent, however as a way to “buy time” humans have turned to quarantine and massive chemical campaigns, instead of trying to prevent new invasions. As Carson continuously stresses chemical use can have unwanted consequences and she urges people to use the basic knowledge of animal populations and their relations to their surroundings and other species to prevent them from becoming overly dominate. For example, according to Campbell’s textbook, higher diversity communities are more often resistant to invasive species because the species is less likely to dominate over the native species. This was proven by scientists working in Long Island Sounds off the Coast of Connecticut created communities of different diversity consisting of sessile marine invertebrates, and examined how vulnerable the experimental communities were to an invasive species: the exontic tunicate. They found the tunicate was four times more likely to survive in lower diversity communities than higher diversity communities. It was concluded the diverse communities captured more of the resources available, leaving fewer resources for the invader. It is firmly believed by Carson that people should do much more simple research before transferring a foreign species to a new habitat to not only prevent a
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.
Earth is home to many diverse and mysterious species. These species thrive within their own ecosystem by adapting to their living habitats and food source. Though when human actions introduce new species to a foreign area where that species never lived before, this is called an exotic species (Phelan, 2013, p.640). Some of these exotic species normally do not cause a threat to the ecosystem to which it is introduced, however some do and these are called invasive species. Invasive species tend to have no predators therefore they can multiply at vastly large numbers and outcompete the native species’ food source and living space. Furthermore these native species have no prior mechanisms to defend themselves from the new invasive species therefore they can fall prey to these new invaders (Phelan, 2013, p.640).
According to Van Driesche, nonnative species are more likely to establish if they invade habitats with lowered biotic resistance, encounter prey with poorly developed mechanisms of self-defense, or invade habitats unaccompanied by their specialized natural enemies or when their invasion is facilitated by earlier invaders (2000). Damage to these communities, then, can be seen both in cumulative effects and in a cycle of self-reinforcement. Although pristine environments are still at risk from invasion, this positive feedback loop makes habitats already with a disturbance by exotics even more vulnerable to other invasions.
Are Invasive Species good for us and the environment? No, they are not, Invasive Species may cause many damages not only including the environment but also us. This essay will argue that humans need to take action to solve the problem because Invasive Species cause miserable endings. If humans don’t do something about Invasive Species, we can all be in danger. According to environmentalscience.org, “Some are transported to new places and established intentionally, but with unforeseen consequences” (Hill 2018).
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.