introductionofinvasivespecies.weebly.com€¦ · Web view2018. 10. 1. · Invasive Species, also known as ‘non-native species’ or ‘alien species’, are species that are introduced,

How do Different Countries Respond to the Presence of Invasive Species?

Response to Non-Native Species

Ambria K. Lohaus

Global Studies and World Languages Academy

Tallwood High School

R e s p o n s e t o N o n - N a ti v e S p e c i e s | 2

Abstract

Invasive Species are species that are introduced, whether purposefully or not, to an

environment not native to them. The effect they have on their new environments can be

catastrophic. This paper digs into the different methods of response the people have to combat

the destruction these invasive cause through answering the questions: how do different countries

respond to the presence of invasive species? What are the most effective ways of eradicating the

presence of invasive species? What is the cost of having to solve the ecological damage they

bring? What is the exact process that goes into enacting a response? By using sources such as an

interview with their outside advisor who is a park worker at Back Bay Wildlife Refuge in

Virginia Beach, personal experience from everyday life and travel observations, databases, and

various online newspaper articles, the author will connect and compare accounts of the presence

of invasive species from two different countries other than the United States (those countries

being Northern Ireland and Costa Rica) and their methods of response to them.


Table of Contents

Abstract 2

Table of Contents 3

Introduction 4

Limitations 5

Methodology 6

Literature Review 7

Body 10

How They Arrive 10

The Response 12

Conclusion 15

Bibliography 16

Appendix I 20

Appendix II 21

Appendix III 23


Introduction

Invasive Species, also known as ‘non-native species’ or ‘alien species’, are species that

are introduced, whether purposefully or not, to an environment not native to them. They can have

varying effects on this new environment, both positive and negative depending on the species

and how the native species react to its presence. There are over six thousand five hundred

documented cases of Invasive Species in National Parks in the United States including species

like snakehead (Channidae), nutria (Myocastor coypus), and brown marmorated stink bug

(Halyomorpha halys). All of the species mentioned before have had a negative effect on the

environment by killing off native species and destroying native land.

Efforts to rid the native land of these negative invasive species are being made, usually

through eradication. An example being in Virginia, killing one nutria earns the hunter five

dollars. Other efforts including introducing species that kill off the species targeted for

eradication. Millions of dollars a year are put into a budget by the National Parks Services to

eliminate the presence of invasive species in the area.

The author of this paper has studied such effects and efforts to eliminate these species

through her travel with the Global Studies and World Languages Academy. From her trip in the

summer of 2013 to Costa Rica, the group was brought to a restoration site where they planted

native tree species to replace those lost during illegal logging back in the 1960s that were

replaced with pine trees (Pinus). Because the pine trees were not native to the area, they were not

adapted to the area and absorb up all of the sunlight, killing off lower hanging plants.


With the introduction of non-native species whether purposeful or not, into new

environments, locals are finding themselves having to respond to the positive and negative

repercussions these species bring though either eradication or acceptance of their presence.

Limitations

While the study of invasive species on their host environments is a selective subject there

are limitations to it.

Primary Sources: The author of this paper will be using her own first hand experiences

from her travels to Costa Rica and Northern Ireland as a source. During these travels the author

observed the long lasting effects invasive species on the environments. The limitations with this

is that the information provided from this experience is from six months to three years ago and

not as current as other sources in this paper. Because the author of this paper is not a specialist or

an expert who has performed field studies for many years, she relies heavily on the work of other

people to gather her data.

Time: Because the author has such a short window to write this paper, she is unable to

work the preferred number of years of experience in the field actively observing the change in

the environment over time.

Inability to Travel: Throughout the paper multiple locations around the world will be

used as examples. Due to the expenses to travel to these places, the author cannot visit all said

locations referred in order to look at the damage caused by non-native species in their new

habitats. She is only able to view such things through photographs and what is written in news

articles.


Methodology

For this research paper, the author used many primary and secondary sources to compile

her information. For primary sources the author turned towards interviewing her outside advisor

Walter Teege, an employee at Back Bay Wildlife Refuge in Sandbridge, in Virginia Beach. The

Refuge has a large feral pig (Sus scrofa) problem (feral being different than wild in that the pigs

use to be owned by farmers but were released after the farms closed down). They destroy acres

of swampland in only a few months, costing thousands of dollars in damage. She also used her

own experiences performing surveys in Northern Ireland during April 2014 with a school

delegation. Finally, she uses the information learned from attending a lecture in Costa Rica about

the effect of the introduced pine trees on the native plant life, in the summer of 2012.

Even every day observations the author has experienced were used for primary sources.

An example being the imported fire ants that were brought over with mulch from South America

that was implemented into local playgrounds in the neighborhood where the author of this paper

currently resides and are creating quite the disturbance for the children and parents who go to the

parks.

For her secondary sources, the author sorted through hundreds of articles, scientific

journals, videos, etc. to find reliable information for the paper.

A majority of the secondary sources will be newspaper articles from the United States,

including her home state Virginia and Florida, Northern Ireland, and Costa Rica. Other sources

include information found on government websites that are created specifically for the study of

invasive species in their select areas and ways to handle them.


Literature Review

When people hear the word “alien species’ they picture an extraterrestrial creature

coming down from some type of flying object with the intent to kill all of mankind. In reality an

alien species, or invasive/non-native species, are plants, animals, or pathogens that are non-

native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction causes or is likely

to cause harm (Joyce).

There are over 6,500 documented cases of Invasive Species in National Parks in the

United States. Most of these documented cases describe a negative effect on the environment by

killing off native species and destroying native land.

Invasive Species are one of the top threats to native wildlife with 42% of

endangered/threatened species at risk due to the habitat loss or competition posed by invasive

species (Corporation). Directly, non-native species can pose a threat to native wildlife through

the carrying of diseases the native wildlife is not adapted to (for example feral pigs carry

brucellosis), they can outcompete them for food or territory, or killing their young. Indirectly,

they can pose a threat through altering the ecosystem and biodiversity, Aggressive plant species

like kudzu (Pueraria) can quickly replace a diverse ecosystem with a monoculture of just kudzu

(Corporation).

A lot of these species arrive through simple methods like transporting wood. A majority of the

invading insects we have now arrived here accidently through the wood trade, an example being

the Asian long-horned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) that was brought to New York

accidently when they stored away in a shipment of lumber and hardwood in 1996 (Haack).


Other ways they are introduced is the illegal pet trade. Burmese pythons (Python

bivittatus) in Florida’s Everglades are a prime example of illegal pets being released into a non-

native habitat. The first Keys python was discovered alive in 2007 when researchers checking on

the status of a male Key Largo woodrat (Neotoma floridana smalli) wearing a radio transmitter

noticed it strangely had moved more than a mile from its original documented habitat. The signal

led the two researchers to a 7-1/2-foot Burmese python sunning itself. The contents of the

captured snake’s stomach included not only the collared woodrat but another one as well

(“Stopping”). Burmese pythons were brought here as pets but the people who bought them were

not prepared for the immense size these snakes would grow to and when they were too large for

their enclosures, people simply let them go. Since then the population has exploded and slowly

Burmese pythons are taking over the Everglades. It has been reported that they are out competing

the native alligators and in even some cases, eating them! To combat the growing population and

to decrease the damage done the U.S. enacted a ban in January 17, 2012 on the importing of four

snakes: the Burmese python, the yellow anaconda, and the northern and southern African python

(“Stopping”).

Organizations have been formed by the National Parks services such as Hawaii Invasive

Species Council, a government organization set up to deal with the non-native species that are

making a large presence on the Hawaiian Islands. The HISC was founded in 2003 under Chapter

194, Hawaii Revised Statutes to take control of the spreading of unwanted species and to prevent

any more from appearing on the islands. It currently holds projects to continue their research on

these invasive species and as of June the governor has granted more funding to continue their

programs (Hawaii).


In an article from The Huffington Post, Carla Herreria reports the advances unwanted,

non-native species in the Hawaiian Islands. The biggest problem seems to be the Bingabing tree

(Macaranga grandifolia), which because of its big leaves will literally snuff other plants of light

and kill them. Other problem animals are apple snails (Ampullariidae), snakes (Serpentes),

mongoose (Herpestidae), and Africanized honey bees (A hybrid of the Western honey bee

species and African honey bees). These animals cause millions of dollars of damage each year

and some, like the snake, have driven native species to extinction (Herreria).

In Virginia we have the 2012 Virginia Invasive Species Management Plan which was

developed by the Virginia Invasive Species Advisory Committee for the Virginia Invasive

Species Working Group (Invasive). Virginia itself has an invasive species problem with species

ranging from nutria, a semi-aquatic mammal that has gone out and destroyed valuable wetlands

in the south, to kudzu, a plant that was introduced for its looks but quickly spread and eliminated

its competitors. The Management Plan was structured to budget money spent on active ways to

eliminate the non-natives in Virginia. For example in the case of Nutria, Virginia has permitted

hunters to shoot the rodents on the spot with a reward of five dollars per Nutria (Invasive).

Interestingly enough not all non-native species were introduced with negative

connotations. Cases such as the reintroduction of species to an environment where they were in

the past extinct is a member of such an area. In Yellowstone they are currently introducing gray

wolves (Canis lupus) back into the Park after so long of them being absent. The wolves were

reintroduced to combat the high elk (Cervus Canadensis) population that was killing off the

willows (Salix), a food source for elk (Gertz). In this case these introduced species are well

received by the public, unlike the others mentioned before.


The Body

Invasive species can be introduced to a new area in a variety of ways. This research paper

will divulge into those ways, whether purposeful or not, to compare and contrast the different

reactions an environment and the society reacts to them. Some areas like western Virginia where

elk have begun to invade the forests have taken advantage of their presence for the economic

value they pose during hunting season. Other areas like Costa Rica are attempting at restoring the

damage done by non-native pine trees that have been killing off the native plant life for decades.

How They Arrive

Most invasive species are brought unintentionally. The major modes of transport are the

illegal pet trade, ships, wood/lumber import, etc. (“N.”). In the United States fire ants

(Solenopsis mandibularis) were brought to the United States through the importing of mulch

made in South America. The fire ants, or red ants, are well known for their painful sting they use

as a defense mechanism when they or their home is threatened.

Asian long-horned beetles were introduced in a similar way along with emerald ash borer

(Agrilus planipennis). While the emerald ash borer has only been introduced once to North

America, the Asian long-horned beetle has been introduced seven times. Emerald ash borer

populations have been established in fifteen of the states in the United States as well as Ontario

and Quebec in Canada (“Campbell”). Removing or treating trees threatened by either of these

beetles costs local governments over one billion dollars each year (“Campbell”).

Plant species such as Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) in Northern Ireland in the

British Isles were introduced as decorative plants in the mid nineteenth century and have since

then have exploded all over and is extremely difficult to remove (“Attwood”). Giant hogweed


(Heracleum mantegazzianum) was also introduced to Northern Ireland as a decorative plant in

the nineteenth century and it is hard to eradicate as well because it’s capable of producing

thousands of seeds which can remain viable for several years, but unlike Japanese knotweed it is

dangerous to humans with its phototoxic sap (“Attwood”).

Along with plant species, animal species are imported in the pet trade into our own

backyard. The green iguana (Iguana iguana) was introduced in 1966 (“Invasive Species n.d”).

While they do not cause any ecological damage, homeowners are forced to pay out of pocket for

the damage done to property in the Miami-Dade area (“Invasive Species n.d”).

Further north in the Mississippi River, locals are on the verge of an uprising of Asian

carp populations. Two species are the biggest culprits: bigheaded carp (Hypophthalmichthys

nobilis) and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) (but seven other species of Asian carp

have been documented outside of their native habitat and thriving). The species was introduced

back in the 1960s as filter fish in fish farms but flooding allowed them to escape into the local

waterways (“N.”). These fish can reach almost 100 pounds, eating all of the plankton native fish

need. Besides causing harm to the native fish, the carp will leap from the water when they sense

a boat motor, sometimes colliding into people and boats causing injury. Recent surveys have

shown that the carp are moving towards the Great Lakes, threatening the delicate ecosystem

there.

Carp is an example of species that was accidently released into the ecosystem and

flourished because it became a dominant species. Florida currently has two distinctive troops of

vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) with well over 120 members (“Invasive Species n.d”).

They have become quite the nuisance since their escape from a tourist attraction. They mainly

threaten humans because they carry diseases that are deadly to us.


Invasive species are distinguished because they thrive in their new environment, no

matter the way they are introduced. They quickly become the dominant species, out competing

the native ones and threaten the biodiversity of the area.

The Response

With the destruction caused by these non-natives plans have been set up by national parks

to eradicate the problem through the budget that is set up by the Department of the Interior and

Congress.

“We have three major invasive species at Back Bay in Virginia Beach: the cattails

(Typha), the feral pigs, and the nutria. It is the cattails that are the most costly to get rid of and

the feral pigs that are the most costly in damage. We do not have a set budget for dealing with

invasive species. The money we get from the government is divided up between utilities, workers

salary, and whatever else needs to be done to keep the park running. But we do make sure a

portion goes to dealing with the problem. In the case of cattails we team up with the local fire

department to burn the cattails that grow here, and destroy the habitat to the local songbird

populations, letting native grasses to grow and take their place. It is a timely process dealing

with the cattails. It takes years to restore what was lost and incredibly expensive. We set traps

with cameras and have hunts for the huge feral pig population in the area and luckily that has

gotten the numbers down. The “opportunistic hunting policy” in the case of nutria has brought

down their threat level into a more manageable level for us. We have programs set up to restore

the land lost/destroyed by the invasives but as I said it is a costly effort and unfortunately we’ve

had to cut back some. ”

-Walter Teege (Visitor Services Manager, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge)


A majority of the invasive problems around the world are combated with hunting,

fishing, trapping, etc. A.K.A complete and total eradication

One combat strategy that is being used is introducing old predators that have since been

missing from the area. That was the case in Back Bay. According to the staff there a resident

coyote (Canis latrans) family was introduced there to hopefully control the feral pig populations.

Photographic evidence proved that the coyotes were indeed preying on the defenseless piglets,

thus decreasing their numbers.

In the case of animals brought in through the pet trade, legal or not, the government can,

and has in the past, put bans on the importing or exporting of certain species. They also can

create and enforce laws making it illegal to release exotic animals into the wild/

Perhaps the best way to respond to invasive species is to prevent them from entering the

environment in the first place. The National Invasive Council has set up guidelines and advice to

the public on how to keep unwanted species out:

- For those who like boating, jet skiing, kayaking, etc. it is best to always check and clean

the underside of your equipment to make sure you aren’t carrying any ‘aquatic hitchhikers’.

- When planting a garden it is preferred to plant native plant species in your area and to

take out ay non-native species. Most invasive plant species are introduced and spread through

gardens and plant decorations.

- If you go camping and are building a fire, use wood from the area, do not bring your

own. Damaging bug species hide out in lumber and will spread.


- If you see signs of invasives in your area, report it to the nearest wildlife conservation

facility and/or Wildlife Park.

But as Mr. Tegge said, it is a timely and costly process. Some species are harder to

dispose of than others simply because they reproduce quickly like feral pigs. A sow (female pig)

is able to gestate at nine months and can have two litters a year ranging from eight to ten piglets

per litter. Take those numbers and multiply them tenfold and you can see how easy it is for a

threat to grow at such a rapid rate.

Some species adapt too quickly further response humans give in attempt to eradicate

them. A lot of plant and insect species have shown that over time they build a resistance to things

like pesticides. This tolerance is passed down through the generations and soon enough humans

are forced to have to figure out a new way to kill off the nuisances. Or some, like kudzu, are just

past the point of no return and the goal isn’t to exterminate but to have a handle on; to manage as

best as resources allow and to help repair what can be.

The process to exterminating non-native species takes time. It could take only a few

months or it could take decades. Dealing with a species the habitat has never experienced before

it tricky at best, it is a meticulous process that takes patience and clear, rational thinking to

handle. Most of all it takes the financing behind it. The way different countries respond to the

presence of invasive species in their environment is through the ways they deem fit; whether it

be through the introduction of a predator, pesticide, traps, hunting, or even leaving well enough

alone


Conclusion

When it comes to the leading causes of ecological damage in the world, the normal

person doesn’t come up with the answer than invasive species are a real problem. They don’t

think about the risk that a wood eating beetle could be a stowaway with their brand new

hardwood floor they ordered from China. But the fact of the matter is that invasive species are a

severe problem to the ecological community all around the world and it rests in our hands to

keep things in balance. When we identify a foreign species in our community, we immediately

take up arms. Our number one mission is to eventually eradicate the problem. Whether it be

plants in Northern Ireland that outcompete native plants or feral hogs that eat up our wetlands in

southeastern Virginia, the government funds programs that are responsible for attempting to

dispel invasives from their area without causing further harm to the environment. But there is

always a cost. Someone has to pay for these programs and it becomes an arms race between the

cost of fighting back and the cost of not doing anything. So what do we, as a society, do to solve

this problem? The simplest answer is to prevent it from occurring in the first place by keeping a

close eye on what we put into our environment and knowing that even the smallest insect can

cause the most destruction.


Bibliography

Primary Sources:

Author: Ambria K. Lohaus

Outside Advisor: Walt Tegge

Visitor Services Manager

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge

1324 Sandbridge Road

Virginia Beach, VA, 23456

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Appendix I. Delegation to N. Ireland in April of 2014 participating in an invasive species survey

on Groomsport Beach


Appendix II. Costa Rica Delegation planting native tree species to restore damage done by pine

trees.



Appendix III. Asian Carp Populations 1975 vs 2011 (National Wildlife Federation)

Documents

introductionofinvasivespecies.weebly.com€¦ · Web view2018. 10. 1. · Invasive Species, also known as ‘non-native species’ or ‘alien species’, are species that are introduced,