Invasive Species

INVASIVE SPECIES-Any kind of living organism that is not native to an ecosystem and causes harm to…

What are some reasons they are so successful?

Possible Effects of Invasive Species:

Cause a decline in native populations that occupy a similar niche
Cause a decrease in the overall biodiversity of an ecosystem leading to a more fragile ecosystem
Increase the amount of competition among populations which causes a decrease in the carrying capacity of certain species
Damage to crops which could cause financial loss to farmers and increased prices of surviving crops
Physical damage to environments such as digging up river banks and increasing potential for erosion
Damage to human structures (homes, telephone lines, buildings, etc)

Examples of Invasive Species

Zebra Mussel-invasive to the Great Lakes
- physical harm to swimmers’ feet
- filters plankton out of the water which ...
  - decreases food sources for other plankton feeders
  - causes the water to become clearer which leads to an increase in aquatic plant growth.

Nile Perch-invasive to Lake Victoria, Africa
- decreases biodiversity of cichlid and other fish species
  - causes extinction of close to 200 cichlid species
- cause increase in amount of algae
  - leads to algal blooms and dead zones in the lake

Controlling Invasive Species

Physical Control
- erecting barriers to prevent new species from entering new environments
- physical removal of invasive species using traps, hunting, or pulling up plants
- controlled burning to remove species

Chemical Control
- applying poisons (pesticides or herbicides) to eliminate invasive species

Biological Control
- Sterilizing some of the invasive population so they can’t reproduce
- Introducing a predator to the invasive species
- Introducing a parasite to the invasive organism

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