Invasive species
hideInvasive species is a phrase with several definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species (e.g. plants or animals) that adversely affect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically. It has been used in this sense by government organizations as well as conservation groups such as the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).
The second definition broadens the boundaries to include both native and non-native species that heavily colonize a particular habitat.
The third definition is an expansion of the first and defines an invasive species as a widespread non-indigenous species. This last definition is arguably too broad as not all non-indigenous species necessarily have an adverse effect on their adopted environment. An example of this broader use would include the claim that the common goldfish (Carassius auratus) is invasive. Although it is common outside its range globally, it almost never appears in harmful densities.
Because of the ambiguity of its definition, the phrase invasive species is often criticized as an imprecise term within the field of ecology. This article concerns the first two definitions; for the third, see introduced species.
For more information about Invasive species, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with invasive species
Invasive Nettle Moth Triggers Hawaii Research
Nov 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Like children everywhere, kids in Hawaii love to run barefoot through tall grass. But an invasive pest called the nettle moth caterpillar can take the fun out of this simple childhood pleasure, ...
When ants attack: Researchers recreate chemicals that trigger aggression
Oct 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Experiments led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have demonstrated that normally friendly ants can turn against each other by exploiting the chemical cues they use ...
Report documents the risks of giant invasive snakes in the US
Oct 13, 2009 |
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Five giant non-native snake species would pose high risks to the health of ecosystems in the United States should they become established here, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report released today.
Black rat does not bother Mediterranean seabirds
Oct 02, 2009 |
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Human activities have meant invasive species have been able to populate parts of the world to which they are not native and alter biodiversity there over thousands of years. Now, an international team of scientists ...
Establishing healthy shrubs not the water-consuming task many think, research shows
Sep 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Good news for your utility bills and the environment: New University of Florida research shows that landscape shrubs need much less water to establish healthy roots than you might expect.
Invasive Species on the March: Variable Rates of Spread Set Current Limits to Predictability
Sep 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Whether for introduced muskrats in Europe or oak trees in the United Kingdom, zebra mussels in United States lakes or agricultural pests around the world, scientists have tried to find new ...
UW-Madison undergraduates make unwelcome discovery in Lake Mendota
Sep 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- On Sept. 11, a standard cruise on Lake Mendota's University Bay began for students in University of Wisconsin-Madison's Zoology 315, a course that introduces them to the study of lakes. With the sampling ...
NASA Heads Out to Sea
Aug 24, 2009 |
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NASA scientists Maury Estes and Mohammad Al-Hamdan have been seafaring in the Gulf of Mexico, and one of them grew a bit green around the gills. It's not surprising that a space agency scientist might have ...
Seeing the tree from the forest: Predicting the future of plant communities
Aug 21, 2009 |
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The ability to envisage the future may be closer than you would think. A recent paper by Sean Hammond and Karl Niklas in the August 2009 issue of the American Journal of Botany presents an algorithm that m ...
National assessment done on potential invasive snail and slug pests in US
Jul 31, 2009 |
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A collaborative team led by a University of Hawai'i at Manoa researcher has published the first-ever assessment of snail and slug species that are of potential threat to the nation's agriculture industry and the environment, ...
Invasive species threaten critical habitats, oyster among victims
Jul 17, 2009 |
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A study of oyster reefs in a once-pristine California coastal estuary found them devastated by invasive Atlantic Coast crabs and snails, providing new evidence of the consequences when human activities move ...
From pythons to fungus, species invading US
Jul 08, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A pet Burmese python broke out of a glass cage last week and killed a 2-year-old girl in her Florida bedroom. The tragedy became the latest and most graphic example of a problem that has plagued the ...
Cameron Davis appointed as Great Lakes czar
Jun 04, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Cameron Davis, leader of a Chicago-based environmentalist group, has been appointed to oversee President Barack Obama's initiative to clean up the Great Lakes.
Beneficial plant 'spillover' effect seen from landscape corridors
May 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Research by a North Carolina State University biologist and colleagues shows that using landscape corridors, the "superhighways" that connect isolated patches of habitat, to protect certain plants has a large ...
Songs raise awareness about aquatic invasive species
May 06, 2009 |
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A new initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is using music to raise public awareness about aquatic invasive species in the state.
