Transcript Invasive species

SNC 1D
ALIEN SPECIES
Species that are accidentally or purposefully
introduced to a new location
 Also known as:
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 Introduced species
 Non-native species
 Exotic species
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Can also be…..INVASIVE SPECIES
INVASIVE SPECIES
Non-native species that cause harm to the
ecosystem in which it has been introduced
 Often has no predators in new area so they
reproduce faster than native species
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How do they cause problems?
 Take over habitat of native species
 Invade their bodies
 Disrupt ecosystem
 Compete with native species for food and habitat
EXAMPLES OF INVASIVE SPECIES
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Asian Carp:
Part 1 (7:05 min): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS7zkTnQVaM
Part 2 (6:39 min): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ChwJiKKBdA
 voracious feeders
 can grow to 40-50 kg
 consuming large quantities of food, muscling out native fish
populations, and altering native habitat
 August 14, 2009:
○ Reached barrier at
Chicago
 June 22, 2010:
○ Carp caught past
barrier in Illinois
EXAMPLES OF INVASIVE SPECIES:
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Zebra Mussels:
 First detected in great lakes in 1988
 Arrived in ballast water of ship
○ Ballast water:
 water picked up by ships to stabilize them
while at sea, released at destination
 Effects:
○ Blocked pipelines
○ Cut people’s feet
○ Filter feeders, contain high amounts of
pollutants, passed onto predators
EXAMPLES OF INVASIVE SPECIES:
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Purple Loosestrife:
 Introduced from Europe in 1800s as
ornamental plant
 Invaded wetlands throughout eastern North
America, choking out many native species
 Altered wetland ecosystem for other species
Invasive Species in
Cootes Paradise
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.062491,95.677076&spn=66.711008,158.027344&t=f&z=3&ecpo
se=37.06250381,-95.67706712,19119373.11,0,0,0
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Carp
- Fishway constructed to prevent carp from
getting in, but allowing smaller fish
- Water level manipulation also used
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Purple Loosestrife
- beetles released that only feed on purple
loosestrife
- native predators of loosestrife beetles are
ladybeetles, true bugs, predaceous beetles,
spiders, and possibly birds, frogs, and lizards
More info - http://jessiealley.wordpress.com/tag/cootes-paradise/
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
 Do not release alien plants or animals (including pets
and live bait) into the wild.
 Do not bring fruit, vegetables, plants, or animals with
you across borders.
 Before taking a recreational trip, inspect and clean
fishing equipment, boats, trailers, recreational vehicles,
and other items that may harbour hitch-hiking invaders.
 Do not transport over long distances firewood or other
wood with bark attached.
Reference: Hinterlands Who’s Who: Issues and Topics: Invasive and Alien Species in Canada, http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=220
Consequence Mapping
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What is it?
- a visual tool for illustrating the many kinds of future
effects related to a real or imaginary event, issue or
problem
- ask a “What if?” question and brainstorm all the
consequences
- Let’s try an example:
What if we ban
cars?
- We can categorize our consequences as social, scientific, legal
and ethical, economic, personal or environmental.
Home Fun !:
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Complete handout
a) Read pages 59 & 66 and answer the
questions
b) Complete the consequence map on
invasive species
Cane Toad
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1935 introduced in Australia to eat scarab
beetles destroying sugar cane fields
only 100 toads imported from Hawaii, soon
exploded into 10 000
shortly after introduction, found out that toads
unable to fly, climb or scale sugar cane to eat
the beetles that lived in upper portion of cane
toads became voracious predators to almost
everything except the beetle
Cane toad videoclip (8:12 min): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpNl8AAFyL4&feature=related
Snakehead
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Aggressive
can grow to 1.5 meters in length
can survive out of water for days
can also jump into boats, rip their prey in half
or sever a human arm with their powerful jaws
Dubbed “Frankenfish” by U.S. media
well adapted to cold water
no natural predators in North America
Snakehead videoclip (3:40 min): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmU7etSYYqI
Snakehead info: http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/snakehead/overview.php
More info: http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/aquatics/snakehead.shtml
Asian Longhorned Beetle
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1996 – arrived accidently in cargo from Asia
Destroys hardwood trees, including maple
(50% of trees in GTA are maple)
Potential to destroy 50% of harwood forests in
North America
No known natural enemies in Canadian forests
Video (2:45 min): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt4LEWiXu3U
More info: http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Forests/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_166979.html