Invasive Fauna: Threats from Unwelcome Guests in Ecosystems

An invasive species is an introduced species to an environment that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and economic damage. The term can also be used for native species that become harmful to their native environment after human alterations to its food web. Since the 20th century, invasive species have become a serious economic, social, and environmental threat worldwide. Massive vines that bkanket the southern united state climbing as high as 100 feet as they uproot trees and swallow buildings a ravenus snake that is capable of devouring an alligator rabbit populations that eat themselves into starvation these aren't horror movie concepts the real storys but how could such situations exit in nature all three are example of inasive species organisms harmful not because of what they are but where they happen to be .

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The kudzu vine for example had grown quatily in its native east asia eaten by various insects and dying off during the cold winters but it fortunes changed when it was imported into the southeastern united states for porch decoration and cattle feed its planting was even subsidized by the government to fight soil erosion with sunny fields a mild climte and no natural predators in its new home the vine grew uncontrollably until it became know as the plant that ate the south meanwhile in florida's everglades burmese pythons thought to have been realsed by pet owners are the cause of decreasin populations of organisms they're successfully outcompeting top predators such as the alligator and panther causing a significant reduction in their food source .

They're not a problem in their native asia because diseases parasites and predators help to control their poplulations size and in australia rabbits eat so many plants that they wipe out the food supply for themselves and other herbivores they're pretty recent addition intentionally introduced to the continent because one man enjoyed hunting them like the burmese pythons various factors in their native habitat keep their numbers in control but in australia the lack of predators and a climate perfectfor year long reproduction allows their populations to skyrocket so why does this keep happening .

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Most of the world's ecosystems are the result of millennia of coevolution by organisms adapting to their enviroment ad each other until a stable balance is reached healthy ecosystem maintain this balance via limiting factors environmental conditions that restrict the size or range of a species these include things like natural geograohy and climate food availability and the predators for example plants growth depends on levels of sunlight and soil nutrients the amount of edible plants affects the population of herbivores which in turn impacts the carnivores that feed on them and a healthy predator populations keeps the herbivores from becoming too numerous and devouring all the plants but even minor changes in one factor can upset the balance and the sudden introduction of non native organisms can be pretty major change .

A species that is envolved in a species that is evolved in a separate habitat will be susceptible to different limiting factors different predators different energy sources and different climates if the new habitat's limitig factors fail to restrict the species growth it will continue to multiply out competing native organisms for resources and disrupting the entire ecosystem species are sometimes introduced into new habitats through natural factors like storms oceans currents or climate shifts the majority of invasive species through are introduced by humans often this happens unintentionally as when the zebra mussel was accidentally brought to lake erie by cargo ships .

But as people migrate around the world we have also delibrately brought our plants and animals along realy considering the consequences about the effect os invasive species on ecosystems many goverments closly monitor the transport of plants and animals and ban the imports of certain organisms but coul he species with the nost drastic envirometal impact be a group of primates who emerged from africa to cover most of the world are we an invasive species Invasive species sometimes thrive because there are no predators that hunt them in the new location.

Brown tree snakes were accidentally brought to Guam, an island in the South Pacific, in the late 1940s or early 1950s. No animals on Guam hunted the snakes, but the island was filled with birds, rodents, and other small animals that the snakes hunt. The snakes quickly multiplied, and they are responsible for the extinction of nine of the island’s 11 forest-dwelling bird species.

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In conclusion, Invasive species will continue to destroy communities throughout the world and reduce species diversity.The general public and commercial industries must be cautious with their activities, which could transport invasive species to susceptible ecosystems.The Argentine ant species needs to be eradicated from environments in which they are not native.However, this must be done by cost effective and environmentally friendly methods reducing further harm to the already sensitive communities in which they have invaded.However, an environmentally friendly insecticide formulated to only effect Argentine ants needs to be developed along with a mass production of the bait stations.If not properly controlled, Argentine ants will continue to disrupt community dynamics and reduce native species diversity as the earth's global temperature increases--resulting in major environmental and economical consequences worldwide.

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