Lesson Thirty-Seven: Invasive Species
An invasive species is an organism that is not native to an area. According to National Geographic, to be invasive a species must:
Adapt to the new area easily
Reproduce quickly
Harm property, the economy, or the native plants and animals of the region
Some fun trivia heading your way (feel free to use this at your next virtual cocktail party 😉)
How do they get there?
1) Pest Control - some species are brought to a new area on purpose to control pests.
Example: In 1949, five cats were brought to Marion Island (part of South Africa). The cats were introduced as pest control for mice. By 1977, about 3,400 cats were living on the island, endangering the local bird population. (National Geographic)
2) Pets - some invasive species descend from escaped pets or ones released into the wild.
Example: Many people have released pet Burmese pythons into the Everglades, Florida. The huge snakes can grow to 6 meters long. Pythons, native to southeast Asia, have few natural predators in the Everglades and feast on many native species. (National Geographic)
3) Accidentally - usually via transportation, and waterways.
Example: Zebra mussels are native to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. They arrived in the Great Lakes by accident, stuck to large ships that traveled between the two regions. There are now so many zebra mussels in the Great Lakes that they have threatened native species. (National Geographic)
Not just animals
Plant invasive species do some of the highest economic damage. For example, water hyacinth is a plant native to South America. People often introduce the plant in lakes and ponds because of its pretty flowers. In Lake Victoria, Uganda, water hyacinth grew so thickly that boats could not get through it - closing some ports and diminishing the fishing industry. The plant also blocked out sunlight and plants & algae could not grow, preventing fish from feeding.
Here are 6 simple things you can do
Nature.org recommends the following:
Verify that the plants you are buying for your yard are not invasive.
Clean your boots before you hike in a new area.
Don't "pack a pest" (fruits, veggies, plants, animals) when traveling. Also don’t move firewood to new areas.
Don't 👏 release 👏 your 👏 pets 👏 into 👏 the 👏 wild.
Volunteer to help remove invasive species.
If you’re fancy 💁🏼♀️ and have a boat, clean it when going from lake to lake (and invite me for a ride)!
If you have ANY questions about invasive species (how to identify, how to remove, how to relocate) let me know! I’m here for you. 🥰
