Dubious about the connections between national security and some turtles and weeds? How about economic concerns? "Attack of the Alien Invaders" also reports that "invasives cost the U.S. alone more than 140 billion dollars yearly." For example, the Caribbean tree frog, called a coqui, has "dampened [Hawaii's] 80-million-dollar nursery export business." Lost revenue aside, these little buggers can sound like "a thousand car alarms shrilling in your garden all night." Bummer.
And then there are possible health implications, such as the 2003 case of monkey pox, which jumped from infected African rats to pet prairie dogs to more than 70 people in six states. Luckily, no one died, but this illustrates how alien species can introduce alien viruses and the need for someone to stay on top of this issue. [See Grist's article on conservation medicine in Main Dish.]
But the most obvious concern around invasive species is their impact on local ecosystems. Non-indigenous animals can eat and compete with natives species -- sometimes wiping them out. Invasive plants can choke out natives, which can also impact the animals dependent on those plants as food sources. Check out the Global Invasive Species Database for "100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species," which has been reproduced in the current issue of National Geographic.
Not a National Geographic subscriber? Check out the various Grist stories on the topic. And if you do get NG, browse our archives anyway! Where else are you going to learn that goats are the hip new thing in eco-friendly weed management?
Have your own invasive species horror story? Do tell.
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jdhlax Posted 9:09 am
27 Feb 2005
Many people here who are not aware of the severity of the harms caused by non-natives oppose getting rid of eucalyptus trees because they like trees. While love of trees and other life is a very good thing, due to their misinformation those opposing removal of eucalyptus take that love too far and do great harm to the native plants and the animals that depend on them.
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Chris Schults Posted 5:16 am
09 Mar 2005
Researchers using a sophisticated sensor aboard an aircraft flying at the edge of space were able to spot an invasive tree species starting to take over native forests near the Big Island's Kilauea Volcano, according to a study published Monday.
The sensing instrument pinpointed where Myrica faya trees, originally from the Canary Islands and the Azores, are starting to take over native ohia trees in and around Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Who would have thought NASA would be involved in the fight against invasive species???
By using NASA's Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer from an ER-2 aircraft flying up to 12 miles above the earth, [researchers] were able to measure the concentration of leaf nitrogen and water content in the plants on the ground.
The Myrica trees, which unlike the ohia are able to draw nitrogen from the air, gave off much higher levels of nitrogen than the native plants.
No word yet if the invasion is due to terrorists or some careless citizen.
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