Causes, Impacts, and Potential Solutions of Invasive Species

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Introduction

Globalization has successfully increased the amount of trade, transport and tourism around the globe; however, it also facilitates the introduction and spread of non-native species. These alien species are intruders that are not indigenous to a particular ecosystem. Successful alien species become invasive by out-competing native organisms for food and habitat, causing harms to the local ecosystem. Invasive species are believed to be one of the leading threats to native wildlife. They also adversely affect people’s health and the economy standing behind the ecosystem. Many countries have invasive species problem, including but not limited to United States, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, India and Brazil. The problem of invasive species is urgent because the economic and environmental impacts are severe.

Causes of Invasive Species

There is a common misunderstanding that invasive species have to come from another country. In fact, an invasive species does not have to be a “foreigner”. For example, lake trout, which are native to the Great Lakes, are considered to be an invasive species in Yellowstone Lake because of their threat to indigenous cutthroat trout. Normally, an ecosystem has many checks and balances that limit the population growth of any one particular species. The correct number of carnivores, herbivores, parasites, and bacteria together create a complicated yet balanced web of life. Every species in this web need to fight for its own food source, living space and survival. However, with the introduction of non-native species, the checks and balances are broken. In many cases, there is no existing predator in the invaded ecosystem to prevent the alien species from expanding. Therefore, they ...

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...g Kudzu With Naturally Occurring Fungus”. 20 July 2009. ScienceDaily. 05 May 2014.
“Economic and Ecological Impacts of Invasive Species”. Colorado State University- National Wildlife Research Center. 05 May 2014.
“Asian Carp Threat to the Great Lakes”. National Wildlife Federation. 05 May 2014.
“Welcome to InvasiveSpecies.gov!” National Invasive Species Council.05 May 2014.
“Tackling the Problem”. Convention on Biological Diversity. 05 May 2014. http://www.cbd.int/idb/2009/about/action/default.shtml
“Invasive Species Solutions”. Mission 2015 MIT. 05 May 2014.

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