The whole concept of "invasive species" had always been a bit confusing to me.
When does a plant or animal brought here from overseas start being considered native? Kudzu has been growing in America since before my ancestors can't here, am I still considered invasive based on the history of Europeans invading this continent?
Native species are part of the ecosystem. All coevolved in the same place for ten thousands of years at least, maybe millions, eventually creating a structure where each piece is connected with the other and fine tuned to produce the maximum value and extract the most products from our machine.
"Non native species" is not the same term as "invasive". Lets imagine that the letter H in your black keyboard falls off. If you replace it by a blue key from other keyboard you end basically with a functional keyboard. Sometimes non native species fill a empty spot and restore a lost system functionality without affecting the other species. Sometimes they even boost the whole machine. A good example would be a native tree from the forests of Kazakhstan that is everywhere, the domestic apple tree.
Invasive species would be like replacing all the keys in your keyboard with the letter H. They turn the machine basically useless. Instead to work with the ecosystem, they destroy it, eliminate most species, and replace it by a much cheaper version. A worse system that is more simple, less stable, and has barely the minimum functionality for us to survive
Thanks for the details examples here! So would that mean the"when" for a non-native species to be considered native is on the scale of when it noticeably evolved to adapt to its new environment?
> Invasive species would be like replacing all the keys in your keyboard with the letter H. They turn the machine basically useless. Instead to work with the ecosystem, they destroy it, eliminate most species, and replace it by a much cheaper version. A worse system that is more simple, less stable, and has barely the minimum functionality for us to survive
I guess this would also put humans at the top of the list of invasive species? That sure did sound a lot like what we have done over or history, unfortunately
I find it is generally used to describe things that are getting out of hand. Often invasive species thrive because there's no natural predation or check and balance for some reason.
Most of the species in my garden are non-native (another term that is often used for less virulent invasives), but they don't colonize the native landscape. The term "invasive" is sometimes used for plants that could otherwise be fine, but will get out of hand in some cases. Bamboo, for instance.
Source: none, but I used to take care of shrubbery for one of my first jobs and I learned a lot about invasives. I hated Brazilian pepper trees the most ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schinus_terebinthifolia ), mainly because they're quite difficult to remove.
A poem attached to the pedestal is neither a legal document nor a statement from the creator of the statue nor was the country asked if that poem was in line with their values. It's one person's personal viewpoint that got amplified by a small group of people with its placement. Not sure why you think it's some kind of "Gotcha!" or founding statement of the country's mission.
You know it’s not really a well defined concept. A friend recently pointed out that whitetail deer can be considered invasive in most of North America. While the Eastern woodlands are certainly their original habit, we have eliminated the wolves that would predate upon them. In the absence of predators their populations have exploded - sometimes causing serious ecological issues in the exact same way we see with invasive species which lack predators to keep them in check.
Oh that's really ingesting, we have plenty of whitetail deer in my area and never thought about whatever they night technically be invasive.
We also have a species of tree called the princess tree. Most consider it invasive because it grows and propogates so quickly, it's originally from Asia if I'm not mistaken. Personally I really like it and have transplanted a few into our posture for fast shade growth and hope to harvest it for wood in 8-10 years.
When does a plant or animal brought here from overseas start being considered native? Kudzu has been growing in America since before my ancestors can't here, am I still considered invasive based on the history of Europeans invading this continent?