Transcript What is an invasive species?

INVASIVE SPECIES
Does it matter if a species
moves into a new area or not?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkqw8dF
_fWU
What is an invasive species?
An invasive species is a plant, fungus, or
animalspecies that is not native to a specific
location (an introduced species), and which
has a tendency to spread to a degree
believed to cause damage to the
environment, human economy or human
health.
INVASIVE SPECIES
PROBLEMS
•
•
•
•
World-wide problem
Increase in travel and trade open routes
In U.S. costs $137 billion dollars per year
Approximately 42% of Threatened or Endangered
species are at risk due to non-native, invasive species.
• Raise havoc in ecosystems and threaten species
diversity
Intentional Release
•
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Intentional Release- Release of Target Species into the Environment
Economic Purposes – nutria
Plants for Agriculture
Plants for Forestry
Plants for Soil Improvements - fire suppression, erosion control
Aesthetic reasons – honeysuckle, purple loosestrife
Ornamental Plants
Cultural Purposes – starlings, Asian Shore crabs
Birds and Mammals for Hunting
Misguided Environmental Projects – Kudzu, Multiflora rose
Biological Control – species intended as controls become invasive
Released Pets and Pet Trade
Naturalization societies
Shakespeare fans – plan to release all birds mentioned in works of Shakespeare – 12
birds released including European Starling
Domestic animals
Release of lab animals or plants – by science teachers and researchers
Accidental Release
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Accidental Releases - Release of Non-Target Species
Ballast water in ships (Green crab, Zebra Mussel, Comb Jellyfish)
Canals – as St. Lawrence River & Great Lake system
Timber – unprocessed wood
Accident release of organisms – gypsy moth, “Killer” African bees
Contaminants of Seed Stock
Fruit Shipments
Transfer in packing material (European Green Crab to CA, Horned Asian Beetle)
By-pass natural barriers
Cars and Planes
Tourists, Luggage
As Hitchhikers with Packing Material, Cargo
As Contaminants or Hitchhikers with Produce
As Contaminants or Hitchhikers with Ornamental Plants
As Contaminants or Hitchhikers with Aquaculture
Effects of Invasive Species
Ecosystems
on
• Direct competition with native species
• Lose of species diversity – may cause native
species to become endangered
• Short-circuit interactions in natural
communities & disrupt natural food web
• Affect entire ecosystem functions as water
availability and nutrient cycle
ECONOMIC EFFECTS
• Billions of dollars in damage to forests,
property values, agricultural productivity,
public utility operations, native fisheries,
tourism, outdoor recreation
• Billions of dollars in programs by federal and
state agencies to control invasive species
• $137 billion in damages per year
Tracking the Aquatic
Invasive Species
Invasive Species by State
Zebra Mussel Spread
Invasive Species
Increase in Great Lakes
Characteristics of
Invasive Species
Birds
Mute swan
European starling
Monk Parakeet
European Starling
•First successful introduction was 60 European
starlings released in Central Park, NY. in 1890, by
fans of Shakespeare
–competes with
bluebirds,
woodpeckers
•slippery sidewalks
House Sparrow
•Competition from the House
Sparrow for cavity nests can
cause decline of some native
species.
•The House Sparrow
was introduced into
Brooklyn, New York,
in 1851.
Insects
Africanized Bees
• In 1956, African Honey
Bees were imported into
Brazil
•In 1957, 26 African queens
escaped
•Reached US in 1990
•More aggressive than European Honey Bees, have
killed 1,000 people
•Impact honey and pollination industries
Insects
• Crop pests
– boll weevil, corn
borer
Adult boll weevil
• Culex mosquitos
– carry avian malaria
and pox
– driven 20 Hawaiian
bird species extinct
Insects
• Asian Long-horned
Beetle
– attacks and kills
many native trees
Found in Chicago in 1998
Insects
• Gypsy moth
•Introduced in
1860s
•Originally
brought to the US
for silk production
•now defoliates
entire forests
Reptiles and Amphibians
Cane toad – native to Central and South America
•Introduced world-wide to
control insects
•milky secretions are highly
toxic. Kill dogs, cats and
small native animals
Reptiles and Amphibians
Brown Tree Snake
•Introduced to Guam via cargo
transported by U.S. military
ships during World War II
•On Guam wiped out 9
of 13 indigenous bird
species
Mammals
• Goats and pigs
– in Hawaii wiped out
native plants
• Horses in Grand Canyon
– causing erosion
• Game animals
– “Texotics”
“Texotics” Oryx
Photo: Dr Mike Hill
Plants
Kudzu
•Introduced into the U.S.
in 1876 at the
Philadelphia Centennial
Exposition
•promoted as a forage crop and an ornamental plant
until 1953
•kills other plants by smothering them under a solid
blanket of leaves
Plants
Garlic mustard
•poses a severe threat to native plants and animals
•garlic mustard
outcompetes native plants
by monopolizing light,
moisture, nutrients, soil and
space.
•Not as good food
for herbivores as
many native species
Buckthorn
Fish
Northern Snakehead
(Channa argus)
Found in Maryland in 2002
Giant snakehead (Channa
micropeltes) found in Wisconsin in
2003
www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/images/ great-lakes-ice-avhrr.gi
Laurentian Great Lakes
Mills et al. 1993
Over 140 exotic species
Many fish species
were (and continue to
be) released
intentionally
Erie
Many other exotics have entered the lake
accidentally:
Canals
Escape from captivity
Ballast water
Bait buckets, live wells and gear
Sea Lamprey
(Petromyzon marinus)
Invaded the Great Lakes after the opening of
the Welland Canal
Devastated native fish stocks, especially lake trout
Other fish (>25 species)
Alewife (1873)
(Alosa pseudoharengus)
Canals
Coho salmon (1933)
(Oncorhynchus kisutch)
Deliberate release
Round goby (1990)
(Neogobius melanostomus)
Ballast water
Chinook salmon (1873)
(Oncorhynchuys tshawytscha)
Deliberate release
Exotic Crustaceans (>6 species)
Bythotrephes cederstromi (1984)
Ballast water
Cercopagis pengoi (1998)
Ballast water
Exotic mollusks (> 14 species)
Asiatic clam (1980)
(Corbicula fluminea)
Aquarium release
Quagga mussel (1990s)
(Dreissena bugensis)
Ballast water
ZEBRA MUSSEL — Dreissena polymorpha
Found in 1988 in Lake St. Clair (Lake between Huron and Erie, just off of Detroit,
MI).
Up to 70,000 individuals per m2
Likely came to North
America in ballast water
One of the most expensive exotic species
Will biofoul and restrict the flow of water through
intake pipes (drinking, cooling, processing and
irrigating water)
Also attaches to boat hulls, docks, locks, breakwaters
and navigation aids, increasing maintenance costs
and impeding waterborne transport.
Characteristics of zebra mussels:
Can attach to hard
surfaces
They have a free-living
planktonic larval stage—
veliger
Females can produce 40,000
veligers
These are typical characteristic of marine species
Veligers are easily transported in bait buckets and
livewells and anywhere else water collects
Adults can attach to hulls and survive outside of
water for several days.
Cover most
hard surfaces
Negative effects
on native clams
Zebra mussels cover
them and prevent them
from feeding and
moving
Zebra Mussel Spread
Plants (> 59 species)
Eurasian Watermilfoil (1881)
Myriophyllum spicatum
Purple Loosestrife (early 1800s)
Lythrum salicaria