The Growing Threat From Alien Species
source: http://talkingskull.com/column/world-outside/growing-threat-from-alien-species
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- Billy_Tarter
- added this
In my life I have been unfortunate enough to witness many shocking things in relation to the state of earth's ecosystems. Shortly after moving to the town of Katherine in the northern territory the cane toads also arrived like a biblical plague. One could hardly even drive on the road without running them over. Their poisonous glands also spelt doom for many native predators such as the Goanna and northern Quoll. Now the Cane toad has reached the borders of Western Australia. Introduced to Queensland in 1935 in hopes it would control the cane beetle it has since steadily spread across the continent leaving a trail of destruction.
I now live in Tasmania which is home to many smaller marsupials that have gone extinct on the mainland to introduced species such as the fox. However it is believed the fox has now made it here as well threatening the last major holdout for many unique species. On top of this the Tasmanian Devil has been driven to near extinction in the last few years by a facial tumour disease. The situation is just as bad or even worse in other parts of the planet such as Guam where the introduced brown tree snake has caused the extinction of many native species. Perhaps worst of all is New Zealand where introduced species now make up half of the fauna and many natives only survive on isolated islands.
However the impact extends to humans as well with West Nile virus now spreading across the United States, and millions being spent each year to control invasive species that damage infrastructure such as the Zebra mussel. I could go with other examples but the list of invasive species and the damage already caused is massive.
Once an invasive species becomes firmly established it is nearly impossible to get rid of it. Clearly more needs to be spent on prevention controls and rapid eradication if detected. This has been done successfully in the past such as the eradication of the African giant snail from Florida. Australia has also been leading the way with strict border controls and quarantine procedures. Restrictions on ships emptying their ballast tanks is another vital measure.
What have your experiences with invasive species been? Have you also witnessed this terrible worldwide plague?
*** Links would not paste correctly... please click to original source below for full linkage...
http://talkingskull.com/column/world-outside/growing-threat-from-alien-species
I now live in Tasmania which is home to many smaller marsupials that have gone extinct on the mainland to introduced species such as the fox. However it is believed the fox has now made it here as well threatening the last major holdout for many unique species. On top of this the Tasmanian Devil has been driven to near extinction in the last few years by a facial tumour disease. The situation is just as bad or even worse in other parts of the planet such as Guam where the introduced brown tree snake has caused the extinction of many native species. Perhaps worst of all is New Zealand where introduced species now make up half of the fauna and many natives only survive on isolated islands.
However the impact extends to humans as well with West Nile virus now spreading across the United States, and millions being spent each year to control invasive species that damage infrastructure such as the Zebra mussel. I could go with other examples but the list of invasive species and the damage already caused is massive.
Once an invasive species becomes firmly established it is nearly impossible to get rid of it. Clearly more needs to be spent on prevention controls and rapid eradication if detected. This has been done successfully in the past such as the eradication of the African giant snail from Florida. Australia has also been leading the way with strict border controls and quarantine procedures. Restrictions on ships emptying their ballast tanks is another vital measure.
What have your experiences with invasive species been? Have you also witnessed this terrible worldwide plague?
*** Links would not paste correctly... please click to original source below for full linkage...
http://talkingskull.com/column/world-outside/growing-threat-from-alien-species
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- groups:
- Green
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- tags:
- Australia, Invasive Species, Guam, Tasmanian Devil, 6 more
