A Study on Invasive Species - 671 Words

Invasive species is a term that is used both for plants and animals. In general, it refers to the introduction of a non-native species into an environment in which because there are no predators tend to dominate the ecosystem and adversely affect the habitat. The overall issue is that the environment becomes out of balance and out of control due to the lack of any natural controls on reproduction or spread. This can be predators or herbivores, and in a world of global commerce, and despite attempts to control, have become problems in many areas (USDA, 2012). One interesting and often quoted example surrounds the plants and animals brought to Mesoamerica during the voyages of Columbus in 1492 often called The Columbian Exchange. Not all non-native species were dangerous, but because of the lack of controls in certain ecosystems, many plants and animals tended to overpopulate or harbor diseases that indigenous peoples and animals had no natural immunity to (See Figure 1). One recent example of problems with invasive species occurred between April and October of 1993 when there were torrential rains and flooding in the mid-western region of the United Sates. The flood contributed to the spread of the zebra mussel from the Great Lakes into the lower areas of the Mississippi River system. This ecological pest, a native to Europe, was accidentally introduced into the Great Lakes in the 1980s by ships moving goods between Europe and the United States. The zebra mussel is anShow MoreRelatedProject Summary : Beaver Creek1733 Words   |  7 Pages Previous studies have shown the Filter sock to be successful in a laboratory setting. Beaver Creek is also plagued with invasive species which could be poorly affecting its environment by stunting the growth of native organisms. Invasive plants provide little to no nutrients to other animals most of the time but are able to out compete native species for land space. We have specifically identified the Persicaria Longiseta (PL) as an invasive species. We plan to remove this species in one areaRead MoreSources Of Environmental DNA1530 Words   |  7 Pagesprecisely, intraorganismal eDNA describes microbe and small organisms living in the soil, water or air, whilst extraorganismal eDNA include shedding cells or faces dispersed in the environment (Turner et al, 2012). Traditional methods of crayfish species detection are often time-consuming, costly, potentially dangerous to the organism (electrofishing) and often the collection of data can miss accuracy (Qu and Stewart, 2017). eDNA is a potentially powerful tool in inaccessible habitats or in combinationRead MoreOpinion Piece for Sydney Morning Herald: Pest Mismanagement in Sydneys Parks797 Words   |  3 Pagesthe propagation of invasive species continues to grow graver with each passing year, as non-native pest plants and animals usurp the territory of Australian wildlife, deplete precious resources, and endanger the very survival of entire communities. Consider the term invasive species, which has been applied to non-native species like the cane toad, fire ant, myna bird, red fox and wild rabbit, and it becomes quite clear that, as The Nature Conservancys Global Invasive Species Initiative stated inRead MoreThe Missouri Department Of Natural Resources Essay1192 Words   |  5 Pagesbasins, a long with a variety of flora (Missouri State Parks, Peewah Trail). Invasive plants have become a serious national threat with steadily increasing rates, even after 50 years of herbicidal management (Sheley and Krueger-Mangold 2003). The process of successful invasive can occur infrequently, or can result in no adverse outcomes at all (Townsend et al. 2000, Muller-Scharer et al. 2004), but if invasion by a plant species is successful, substantial harm can occur within the habitat, which can resultRead MoreThe Atlantic And Pacific Coasts Fish Stocks Overall Show Little Improvement1732 Words   |  7 Pagesimprovement for the past ten years, The Central Coast Herring stock numbers are at a record low in abundance. Sockeye Salmon population has been consistently declining since the 1990’s due to the dangerous nature of their route of migration of this species through to the Gulf of Alaska. Groundfish stock tends to vary from year to year. The decline in dissolved oxygen in these areas has shown to affect distribution. Groundfish stocks are impro ving overall, but those of shorter life spans (ie. flat fish)Read MoreAfrican Tulip Tree : Puerto Rico s Salvation Or Invasive Pest?1221 Words   |  5 PagesAfrican Tulip Tree: Puerto Rico’s Salvation or Invasive Pest? Lauren Fegan September 6, 2015 WSES 4309 THESIS The African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata) is a native species of tree that is found along the West coast of Africa from Ghana to Angola and inland across the center of the continent to southern Sudan and Uganda. (Source #1) The vivid fiery hue of the flowers of the African tulip tree contributed to its introduction to Puerto Rico more than a century earlier asRead MoreModern Threats And Coral Reefs1696 Words   |  7 Pagesall they can to help restore and rehabilitate coral reefs to a healthy state. Between invasive species, temperature change, and overfishing, it has become evident that if we do not do something, all coral reefs will be destroyed. This study focuses on some of these issues, and discusses actions that are being taken to reverse the damages being caused by people. Coral fragmentation and gardening, invasive species control, marine protected areas (MPAs), and heightened restrictions on fishing are justRead MoreStudy Of A Study Area Essay1188 Words   |  5 Pag es3.1 Study Area The study area would be in the Semi-arid rangeland Samburu County, Kenya. The vegetation classes are Acacia woodland along major rivers, grasslands and shrub lands while the soils are generally silt loam to clay loam with low organic matter. The main land use type in the study area is livestock production. Over the past two centuries, some of the pastoralists in the study area have combined crop production with pastoralism, with those practicing pure pastoralism having a sedentaryRead MoreEssay On Invasive Species1520 Words   |  7 PagesNewberry National Volcanic Monument (NNVM) in the Deschutes National Forest. Our team, a group of 11 undergraduate students, collected data on invasive species at NNVM in September and October of 2017. Our survey routes were based on a map produced by the United States Forest Service (USFS) that outlined the previously recorded locations of invasive species at NNVM. The USFS map was a composite of several data sources and was the best available in formation prior to our survey. Our team used this mapRead MoreFactors That Affect Soil Processes And Ecosystem Functioning760 Words   |  4 Pagesmanagement (Edwards 2000). Despite these beneficial effects in agriculture systems and probably in urban settings (Hendrix and Bohlen 2002), some other aspects of earthworm activities, in particularly those are from introduced invasive, are damaging to the natural ecosystems, as invasive earthworms alter plant community structure and diversity, change soil structure and microbial community, and indirectly impact other ground dwelling animals (Hendrix and Bohlen 2002; Bohlen et al. 2004; Hale et al. 2006;