Transcript Invasive Species Power Point

Plagues and Swarms
Invasive Species Ecology
Invasive Species
• Invasive species are defined as non-native exotic organisms
whose introduction to new areas may result in harmful effects
on human and environmental health and economic costs
• Invasive species are one of the most important threats to
biodiversity
– Approximately 50,000 invasive species in the USA
– Nearly 5,000 plant species
– 10,000 person hours in Smoky Mountain National Park
(http://www.invasive.org/eastern/)
Emerald Ash
Borer
Water Hyacinth
Emerald Ash Borer
Zebra Mussel
European Starling
Invasion Ecology: General Questions
- How are species able to dominate the
habitats they invade?
- What impacts do invasive species have on
species diversity and ecosystem processes?
- What determines the invasibility of habitats?
Invasive species impacts
Based on a 2005 Lexington, Kentucky,
street tree survey- it is estimated that there
are more than 10,000 ash trees in the
Urban Service Area (LFUCG 2007).
The ash component of Louisville
Kentucky's tree population is 17%.
http://www.emeraldashborer.info/
buprestid
Asian carp
Invasive species impacts (critters)
European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus coniculus)
– Invasive in Australia
– Causes damage to the environment and agricultural
operations
– Difficult to control because native predators now rely on
the feral rabbit as a food resource
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasiv
e/ferals/index.html
Invasive species impacts (critters)
Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis)
– Native in Australia and Indonesia
– Invasive in Hawai’i
– Preys on native lizards and birds
– Causes major power outages because it
climbs on electrical wires
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/anima
ls/bts.shtml
Invasive species impacts (critters)
Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)
– Native in Europe and Asia
http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/fact/z
ebra.htm
Invasive species impacts (critters)
Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)
– Native in Europe and Asia
Invasive species impacts (critters)
Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)
– Native in Europe and Asia
Invasive species impacts (critters)
Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)
– Native in Europe and Asia
– Extremly successful in filter feeding
• Decrease food available for other aquatic
organisms
• Makes the water clear
• Increase in aquatic plant production and
blue-green algae
– Clogs drainage pipes
– Approx. $5 billion in damages to the
Great Lakes
http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/fact/z
ebra.htm
Invasive species impacts (critters)
Rusty Crayfish (Orconectes rusticus)
http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/
ais/rustycrayfish_invader
Invasive species impacts (plants)
Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
– Native to China
– Allelochemical properties and a distinct small
– Invasive throughout the USA
• Oak-hickory and Maple-birch forests
– Early successional species
http://www.fs.fed.us/
database/feis/plants/t
ree/ailalt/all.html#Suc
cessionalStatus
Invasive species impacts (critters)
Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii)
– Native to China and surrounding Asian region
– Introduced to the USA in 1896 (Luken, J. O. and J. W. Thieret 1995)
Fruit of L. maackii
Flower of L. maackii
Photos: Ryan W. McEwan
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=loma6
Invasive species impacts (critters)
Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii)
– Native to China and surrounding Asian region
– Introduced to the USA in 1896 (Luken, J. O. and J. W. Thieret 1995)
– Suite of invasive characteristics
(Gorchov and Trisel 2003; Hutchinson
and Vankat 1997; McEwan et al. 2009)
• Successful in disturbed and edge habitats
Black Oak Park in
summer
Invasive species impacts (critters)
Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii)
– Native to China and surrounding Asian region
– Introduced to the USA in 1896 (Luken, J. O. and J. W. Thieret 1995)
– Suite of invasive characteristics
(Gorchov and Trisel 2003; Hutchinson
and Vankat 1997; McEwan et al. 2009)
• Successful in disturbed and edge habitats
• Has a long growing season
• Allelopathic capabilities
– Herbs (Dorning and Cipollini 2006; Cipollini et al. 2008)
– Insects (Cipollini et al. 2008; McEwan et al. 2009)
Invasive species impacts (insects)
Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anophlophora glabripennis)
– Native to China, Japan, and Korea
– Invasive in NY, NJ, and PA
– Larva eat away at woody tissue of
many types of hardwood trees
– Estimated costs of approx.
$3.5 billion USD/year
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoffburg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/Anoploph
ora%20glabripennis.html
Invasive species impacts (insects)
Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis)
– Native to eastern Russia, China, Japan, and Korea
– Specialist invasive
– Invasive throughout the northern parts of the Midwest
and East coast of the USA and Canada
– Larva eat at the woody tissue of Ash trees
http://www.emeraldashborer.info/
Invasive species impacts (fungi)
At the end of the 1800s:
- American chestnut was
found throughout much of
the Eastern Deciduous
Forest.
- Chestnut was among the
largest of eastern trees.
- Pure stands were common
- (> 80 % Basal Area in
some stands)
Range of American chestnut
From: Paillet and Rutter (1989)
- In 1904, chestnuts in the New York area
began exhibiting a previously unknown
canker.
Photos from The Canadian Chestnut Council:
- This disease, caused by the fungal pathogen
Cryphonectria parasitica, spread throughout the
native range of the American chestnut.
- By 1960, chestnut had been rendered
functionally extinct as a canopy tree throughout its
native range.