Invasive Species

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In 1996, the Asian Longhorn Beetle made its way into the New York and New Jersey creating the decimation of the forests. The Asian Longhorn Beetle has so far caused the cutting of over 10,000 trees in New Jersey, and quarantine of 109 miles in New York today . The spread of this foreign beetle has created great impacts on the environment. The Asian Longhorn Beetle is an invasive specie, a harmful specie from another locations, mainly other countries, that has ended up in a foreign habitat. As time has progressed, invasive species have continued to come into our environment more frequently creating many unforeseen consequences. The relationship of invasive species within the United States’ environment and ecosystem has been changing ever since the arrival of the Europeans in the 1700s to present day. Due to these encounters with other species whether harmful or neutral, the majority, if not all, of the United States has been affected with the threatening encroachment of native species due to the industrialization of waterways and transportation. Invasive species only started to show up in the United States when the Europeans started to arrive. Beforehand, very limited contact was made in this particular region of the world, so very few invasive species came into North America. When the Europeans arrived in 1492, after Columbus discovered North America, they brought their own culture and essential food and animals with them. At first, it was just the basics of maize, wheat, pumpkins, and squash, but later on it also included cows, chickens, and horses . As more Europeans flocked into the country, non-native species began to appear in the area. Often, as non-native species appeared it led to unintended consequences of destroying gra... ... middle of paper ... ...gton, DC: Island, 2000. Newman, Andy. “If You’re a Tree-Hungry Beetle, Run.” The New York Times, May 14, 2013. Accessed August 30, 2013. http://nytimes.com/2013/05/14/if-youre-a-tree-hungry-beetle-run/. Niskern, Diana. Invasive species. Washington, D.C. (101 Independence Ave., S.E.): Science Reference Section, Science, Technology, and Business Division, Library of Congress, 2004. United States. Invasive Species: Plant Invaders. Vallejo, Calif: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, 2012. Weber, Karl. Cane Toads and Other Rogue Species. New York: Public Affairs, 2010. Zipkin, Elise F., Kraft, Clifford E., Cooch, Evan G., and Sullivan, Patrick J., “When Can Efforts to Control Nuisance and Invasive Species Backfire?,” Ecological Applications, Vol. 19, No. 6 (2009): 1585-1595, accessed October 11, 2013. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40346271.

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