Invasive species occupying UK rivers

Invasion of foreign species is affecting ecosystems from all over the globe, even the vast kingdom of ice at Antarctica is no longer exception to this rule. The invasive species are not only causing major environmental but also major economic damage because they disrupt vital services that ecosystems provide, causing economic losses of billions of dollars.

The latest negative example involving invasion of foreign species refers to England's longest river Thames. The latest study done by researchers at the Queen Mary, University of London says that river Thames is invaded by at least 100 non native freshwater species.

The researchers say that the main reason behind this large number of invasive species is globalization. Dr Michelle Jackson, the lead author of the study, says that there is a positive correlation between shipping activity and population size and the growth in number of invasive species.

Invasive species usually have major impact on biodiversity of affected ecosystems because they compete with native species for food and resources, which often leads to serious decline in population of many native species. The loss of native species leads to loss in many of vital ecosystems services, which in turn causes major economic damage.

The 2010 CABI report claims that invasive species cost British economy £1.7bn every year.

The main problem with this major environmental issue is the fact that it often gets overlooked. Other environmental issues such as climate change and pollution receive lot more public attention than the problem of invasive species.

If we continue this trend of ignorance invasive species will continue doing harm to many native species, which will result in even bigger biodiversity loss. Solving this issue, however, is anything but easy because of the complex interaction between the species and numerous factors that play their role in spreading invasive species all over the globe.

Invasive species occupying Mediterranean Sea

According to scientists the Mediterranean is the world's sea most invaded by invasive species. The latest study by the University of Gothenburg reports that in the last three decades there have been 900 new alien species making way in the coastal environments of the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The invasive species are big threat to native species, they compete with native species for food and habitat which in the end often results in big changes in food chain and the decline (sometimes even extinction) of many indigenous animal species.

The main reason why Mediterranean Sea has become a favorite destination for so many invasive species has been the opening of the Suez Canal. As in many other corners of the world, increased ship traffic means increased number of invasive species.

The environmentalists are rightfully worried about what will happen to native ecosystems because once invasive species become dominant there will be no way back for native plants and animals, and many of them could forever disappear from their former habitats.

One of the most talked about invasive species in Mediterranean Sea is the poisonous pufferfish. This fish is dangerous because of the powerful toxin called tetrodotoxin which causes muscle paralysis and can lead to respiratory arrest, and even death. According to scientists the poisonous pufferfish has already become a dominant species in eastern Mediterranean Sea.

In order to fully describe the impact of certain invasive species scientists do not only need better monitoring methodologies but also knowledge about specific life characteristics of alien species and risk assessments. This of course requires big funds which are anything but easy to obtain because there doesn't seem to be enough interest at the international level to stop the spreading of invasive species.

The invasive species issue has much bigger weight than many world leaders think it has as it worsens already huge biodiversity loss, and creates not only huge environmental but also huge economic damage.

Can invasive species coexist with native species?

In most cases invasive species are responsible for doing great damage to native species, even taking some of native species to the very brink of the extinction. But there are also some positive cases, where invasive species can coexist with native species, and one of these cases was discussed in a paper in "Ecology".

In order to prove that not all invasive species cause harm to native species researchers studied the Asian shore crab, which has proliferated along the Atlantic shore. The invasive Asian shore crab population has experienced significant growth in the last few decades.

Scientists have concluded that Asian shore crab has found a hospitable niche in its new habitat, and different to all expectations gets along with native species. While the crab has exploited the conditions set up by the native cordgrass and ribbed mussels that dominate the cobbled beach ecosystem, it does not appear to do so at the expense of other native species that call the shoreline home.

Asian shore crab - Not causing damage to native species

Still, this case is only an exception because very few environments will offer enough room for new invasive species without harming invasive species in the process. Many invasive species are predatory, and thus doing significant damage to native species, especially in environments where native species didn't have any natural predators until these species came.

Invasive species are not causing only huge environmental damage but also big economic damage, and according to WWF's estimates invasive species have cost marine and coastal activities including fisheries, aquaculture, industrial infrastructure and harbors around £31 billion in the last five years.

World still lacks global action to tackle this serious problem, and many native habitats with unique plants and animals are in danger of going extinct. The worst thing in this story is the fact that many people still fail to take this problem seriously.

Invasive species threatening native species around the globe

The negative impact of invasive plants and animals is constantly increasing, and the current situation is so serious that the Global Invasive Species Programme recently announced how on average there are around 50 non-native species having a negative impact on existing plants and animals in every county around the world.

The main reason why number of invasive species is constantly increasing is the big rise in the international trade in the last 20 years. Insects, rats and many other species travel together with different goods, and once they are introduced to new habitats they are doing serious damage to native plants and animals.

There are only few success stories in dealing with invasive species problem, and the number of negative examples is much bigger, like for instances goats doing great damage to sensitive Galapagos wildlife or rats doing great damage to yellowhead bird in New Zealand.

Big global action is our only chance but this is yet to happen as only few countries have so far introduced serious measures to tackle invasive species problem. Invasive species are finding it very easy to adapt to new environment, mostly because they often have no real predators in their new habitats meaning that their population soon becomes threat to native plants and animals.

World has to act as soon as possible to prevent the worst. The worst possible scenario would include extinction of many native species, and this is something we must prevent at any cost.

Invasive species problem largely connected with ballast tanks of ships

According to World Wildlife Fund (WWF) around 7,000 marine and coastal species travel across the world's oceans every day, and some of them become invasive in new environment not only by doing damage to native ecosystems but also doing tremendous economic damage. WWF estimates that just in last 5 years invasive species have cost marine and coastal activities including fisheries, aquaculture, industrial infrastructure and harbors around £31 billion. The main reason for spreading of these invasive species is shipping.

In 2004 countries established the Ballast Water Convention that should bring in the measures needed for ballast water to fight against invasion of new species but so far only one country, Liberia, has ratified this convention. WWF called for other top shipping countries to tatify this convention but so far there was no progress, and invasive species are still spreading around the globe.

The most dangerous are predatory invasive species that are doing great damage to food chains and damaging habitats of native species. The more invasive species there are the better chances are for some native species to go extinct. Invasive species problem is actually big ecological problem but not many people around the globe are aware of that. Since world is still largely ignorant to this problem number of invasive species is constantly rising causing even bigger environmental and economic damage.

Chinese mitten crab is one of the most famous invasive species. This species spread throughout the world in the ballast of ships, and is now causing big damage to many native species around the globe.

Among more famous invasive species are Chinese mitten crabs, the North American comb jellyfish, the red mysid shrimp, and the Indo-Pacific poisonous lionfish.

Invasive species big threat to birds

Invasive species are plants and animals that are not native to given ecosystem. These invasive species are in most cases introduced by humans, in some cases intentionally, and in other accidentally. No matter whether it was accident or intention, in both cases these invasive species are doing extreme damage to biodiversity loss in many parts of the world threatening survival of native animal and plant species. Bird population is especially sensitive to introduction of these new species.

Currently there are 625 endangered birds in the world, and scientists believe how 51 % of these bird species are threatened by invasive alien species. Situation is worst in some isolated islands where bird species in process of evolution had no natural predators so they haven't developed any defensive mechanisms that would protect them from ever-growing invasive species. Don Stewart, Director for BirdLife International in the Pacific region recently said how "Three-quarters of all Globally Threatened bird species occurring on oceanic islands are at risk from introduced species".

Many environmental organizations are trying to clean the islands from these harmful invasive species but in many cases once certain species is cleared another comes, and here we go again back from the beginning. Many seabird colonies, especially across the Pacific are experiencing major population decline because of many predatory alien species at their nesting habitats.

Problem of invasive species is very serious ecological problem. This problem is lately receiving more and more attention on political level but still not enough to efficiently protect native species. Some protection projects were quite successful but there's one thing that these projects still lack, namely global level. Few regional actions aren't enough to solve this problem because this is global problem that needs to be solved on global level. Of course the same goes with all other ecological problems. After all this is the price of globalization.

Invasive species in Europe

Latest report documented by DAISIE (Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventory for Europe) has shown that more than 11000 invasive species have invaded Europe. This is still not alarming because only about 10 percent of these alien species cause economic and environmental damages by having negative impact on biological diversity, creating problem to native animal and plant species.

However number of these invasive species is increasing at daily level and as the climate change becomes more powerful we can expect many new invasive species across the whole globe, not only in Europe, and on the other hand many native species will be heading for extinction. This will of course have tremendous effect on our global biodiversity causing tremendous environmental and economic damage.

There are more than 11000 invasive species in Europe

With so many invasive species there is increased chance of new diseases, altering balance of current ecosystems, reduced biodiversity, decreased value of land and water for human activities, and different other negative impacts that can easily occur. Many countries are still not fully aware that invasive species problem can result in catastrophic consequences for not only Europe's biodiversity but also for human health, and total economy.

China troubled with invasive plants and animals

Mixed Chinese US team recently described in article "China's Booming Economy is Sparking and Accelerating Biological Invasions" how more than 400 alien plants and animals are now considered invasive in China, of which many are already causing serious harm despite the fact that they were first document a few years ago.

There are many different reasons for these invasive species and the main reason is rapid boom in China's economy that created suitable conditions for entry of these invasive species. Because of this huge economic growth there is ever-increasing number of travelers and imported goods and that is just the environment these invasive species prefer. China's network of express highways and increase in domestic air travel are also helping these species to spread out throughout the country.

Among these species insects are spreading at fastest rate and for instance the American vegetable leaf miner, first detected in China in 1993, now has habitats throughout the country. many invasive plants are also spreading throughout the country, of which many were brought to China as ornamental or fodder species like for instance Canada goldenrod that has until now invaded more than 20 provinces.

China's preparations to make Beijing 2008 Olympics as "green" as possible are also posing a serious threat since China imports many non-native grass seed and other plants just to make its landscape more beautiful. And native ecosystems aren't the only one that suffer from these invading species, as according to one preliminary estimate China's annual economic losses from invasive insects and plants are around $14.5 billion.

Invasive species problem is becoming serious threat to many parts of the world and that is certainly big ecological problem that needs much more attention, especially because of rapid rate at which these invasive species spread throughout new areas and damage they are doing in these areas, both from ecological and economic point of view.

Hawaii - Major problem of invading species

Hawaii is definitely a dream touristic destination for many people and a real paradise on Earth. But this paradise on Earth also has unique ecosystems that are threatened by many invasive species. Hawaii already lost many of its species, mainly because of aggressive and harmful invading species, and according to Hawaii Invasive Species Council at least two series of arthropod pests have arrived on Hawaii each year, for the last ten years. Particularly worrying is the red ant population that already took gigantic proportion.

But there are not only arthropod pests presenting giant problem, but many other invading species such as the brown tree snake and the invading plant Miconia. Hawaii has become subject of such tremendous invasion, mainly through human action as one of the most desirable touristic destinations. Environmentalists predict how each year about 20-50 new species gets introduced to Hawaii, at rate that is about 2 million times more rapid than the usual nature rate.

Hawaii is the home of many unique and beautiful plants and animals that developed in this, once isolated area, and live only in this area which makes this specific and wonderful biodiversity of Hawaiian ecosystems.

US government realized this problem and each year massive funds are being invested to fight this silent invasion that threatens Hawaiian native species. Invading species problem is the extremely serious in Hawaii and the worse invading species problem in entire United States, because species that developed on these islands were isolated for many years and didn't have any natural enemies, and this today makes them more vulnerable to ever-increasing number of invading species.

Unfortunately so, there is still not sufficient public awareness, nor completely reliable pest prevention systems. However there are efforts of many federal and private agencies that work really hard to prevent introduction of these invading species by inspecting incoming cargo in special biosecurity facilities. But there are only few of these facilities so their positive impact isn't that big and will require more funding in order to have any chance in fight against this major ecological problem.

Hawaii - Beautiful and unique piece of nature

World's coastal waters - Invasion problem

According to the newest Nature Conservancy study 48 % of the world's coasts are being colonized by foreign aquatic species that are changing current aquatic ecosystems. Many of these invading species are considered to be extremely harmful when introduced to a new landscape, freshwater system or ocean region.

Famous San Francisco bay is world's most invaded area, with 85 invasive species in its waters, of which 66 percent are considered harmful. These new species disrupt food chain in these ecosystems since these new areas new often lack natural competitors and predators.

According to some estimations, about10,000 species are estimated to be in transit at any one time, with many of then being invasive species traveling by thousands of vessels cross our oceans and invading different aquatic ecosystems.

Once these invaders settle in these new ecosystems it is almost impossible to remove them and the only real solution is prevention of their arrival in these ecosystems. These invaders are not only dangerous by ecological point of view but are also damaging economy and US for instance spends about $120 billion annually to control and repair damage that was caused by these invaders.

Among these invading species most notable are: Chinese mitten crab (Delta and San Francisco Bay), tropical seaweed Caulerpa (Mediterranean and Australia), Comb jellyfish (Caspian sea and Black sea) and many other alien algae.

All these marine invading species are showing no mercy to species that live in these areas and if further introduction of these organisms continue this will affect the biodiversity of many ecosystems and cause extinction of many species because of the disorder in the food chain.

How big is this problem? The best would be to quote Jennifer Molnar, lead author of the study, "Assessing the Global Threat of Invasive Species to Marine Biodiversity" that said: "The scale of this problem is vast."

San Francisco bay - Aquatic ecosystem invaded by foreign species, especially Chinese mitten crab.