39 Facts About Invasive species

An invasive species is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment.

Since the 20th century, invasive species have become a serious economic, social, and environmental threat.

Notable examples of invasive plant species include the kudzu vine, Andean pampas grass, English ivy, Japanese knotweed, and yellow starthistle.

Alien or naturalized species are those species which are not native to an area but established, and those that are a threat to native species and biodiversity are often called invasive species.

Much of the study of invasive species has been influenced by Charles Elton's 1958 book The Ecology of Invasion by Animals and Plants which drew upon the limited amount of research done within disparate fields to create a generalized picture of biological invasions.

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Studies on invasive species remained sparse until the 1990s when research in the field experienced a large amount of growth which continues to this day.

Typically, an introduced species must survive at low population densities before it becomes invasive in a new location.

Every Invasive species occupies a niche in its native ecosystem; some Invasive species fill large and varied roles, while others are highly specialized.

Some invading Invasive species fill niches that are not used by native Invasive species, and they can create new niches.

In 1958, Charles S Elton claimed that ecosystems with higher species diversity were less subject to invasive species because of fewer available niches.

In New Zealand the first invasive species were the dogs and rats brought by Polynesian settlers around 1300.

Colonization of the island of Madagascar has introduced exotic plant and animal Invasive species which have significantly altered the island's landscape.

An introduced species might become invasive if it can outcompete native species for resources such as nutrients, light, physical space, water, or food.

Ecosystems which are being used to their fullest capacity by native Invasive species can be modeled as zero-sum systems in which any gain for the invader is a loss for the native.

Invasive species often coexist with native species for an extended time, and gradually, the superior competitive ability of an invasive species becomes apparent as its population grows larger and denser and it adapts to its new location.

An invasive species might be able to use resources that were previously unavailable to native species, such as deep water sources accessed by a long taproot, or an ability to live on previously uninhabited soil types.

Invasive species might alter their environment by releasing chemical compounds, modifying abiotic factors, or affecting the behaviour of herbivores, creating a positive or negative impact on other species.

Conversely, examining habitats in which a species is less successful can reveal novel weapons to defeat invasiveness.

Studies of invasive species have shown that introduced species have great potential for rapid adaptation.

Rapid adaptive evolution in these Invasive species leads to offspring that have higher fitness and are better suited for their environment.

This, in addition to evolution that takes place after introduction, all determine if the Invasive species will be able to become established in the new ecosystem and if it will reproduce and thrive.

Non-native Invasive species have many vectors, including biogenic vectors, but most invasions are associated with human activity.

Many of these Invasive species are considered harmful and can negatively affect their new environment.

Invasive species often exploit disturbances to an ecosystem to colonize an area.

Invasive species can affect the invaded habitats and bioregions adversely, causing ecological, environmental, or economic damage.

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Multiple successive introductions of different non-native species can have interactive effects; the introduction of a second non-native species can enable the first invasive species to flourish.

Invasive species that are closely related to rare native species have the potential to hybridize with the native species.

The characteristics of garlic mustard are slightly different from those of the surrounding native plants, which results in a highly successful Invasive species that is altering the composition and function of the native communities it invades.

The higher pollen count and male fitness of the invading Invasive species resulted in introgression that threatened the native populations due to lower pollen counts and lower viability of the native Invasive species.

Invasive species and accompanying control efforts can have long term public health implications.

Economic costs from invasive species can be separated into direct costs through production loss in agriculture and forestry, and management costs.

However, an intense search for the invader is only important to reduce costs in cases where the invasive species is not frequently reintroduced into the managed area and cost effective to search for and find.

Many weed Invasive species are accidental introductions that accompany seeds and imported plant material.

Invasive species have the potential to provide a suitable habitat or food source for other organisms.

Second way that non-native Invasive species can be beneficial is that they act as catalysts for restoration.

Additionally, some Invasive species have invaded an area so long ago that they have found their own beneficial niche in the environment, a term referred to as naturalisation.

Non-native Invasive species can be introduced to fill an ecological engineering role that previously was performed by a native Invasive species now extinct.

Invasive species are flora and fauna whose introduction into a habitat disrupts the native eco-system.

Skeptics point out that once a foreign Invasive species has entrenched itself in a new place—such as the Indo-Pacific lionfish that has now virtually taken over the waters of the Western Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico—eradication is almost impossible.