As humanity establishes itself as the first globalized species, able to trade goods and travel to countries from thousands of miles away, sailing or flying across vast seas. However, as humanity becomes more interconnected with each passing day, we often forget how our actions affect those incredibly fragile ecosystems beneath the waves. Over countless millennia, these organisms have evolved to depend on each other for shelter, sustenance, and basic survival every day of their lives. Due to this, foreign organisms from outside these ecosystems can cause untold amounts of damage onto an environment without having evolved to maintain sustainability. Introduced to the environment by human activity, whether it be on purpose or accidental, these species upset the environmental balance sustained for generation, as they grow, consume, and proliferate out of control. With this balance upset, anything from local extinctions to the severe destabilization of surrounding biomes can occur. And as these non-native creatures begin to pose an even greater threat onto the ecosystem, scientists across the world have created a label to describe them, “invasive species”.
Invasive Species Across the Oceans
With thousands of invasive species across the world damaging native ecosystems, one prominent example of an invasive animal affecting marine life is the lionfish. While some Indonesian readers may be familiar with its bright coloring and the toxic spines on its fins, the lionfish is a relatively new introduction to Atlantic coral reefs. Originally introduced to the region as exotic pets, groups of released lionfish have begun to proliferate out of control without any predators to control their population. And with voracious appetites, researchers have discovered that a single lionfish living on a coral reef can reduce native fish populations by up to 79%. This creates a domino effect, causing local predators to starve and algae populations to grow out of control, greatly harming the ecosystem.
A less flamboyant example of an invasive species is the European Green Crab. While it may not seem like much, with only 3 inches in length, this animal has managed to spread across the world from the Americas to Asia to Australia. A major reason behind their spread is that most ships often fill up their ballasts with water before going on voyages, unintentionally bringing a few passengers along with them. With opportunistic diets, these crabs have begun to prey on native oysters, clams and younger crabs, greatly impacting local shellfish populations. Fish populations, bird populations, and even humans that depend on those shellfish for survival.
One last example of an invasive species spread by humans is the killer algae, a species of seaweed native to the Pacific and Carribean. Often used in aquarium decorations due to its attractive appearance and low-maintenance costs, the dumping of aquarium water into marine ecosystems has allowed them to spread far beyond their natural range. Growing at incredibly fast rates, this species of algae has been known to colonize and replace local plant life, overcrowding and outcompeting them. This ends up reducing the populations of animals that prey on these plants and the predators that prey on those animals, as this algae also happens to be toxic for most animals outside of its local range.
How Do We Stop Future Invasions?
With invasive species constantly spreading outside of their local range and destroying crucial environmental infrastructure, experts estimate that they cost the global economy around 1.4 trillion dollars every year. The most important step in stopping even more invasive species from spreading outside their range is prevention. By carefully cleaning boats before transferring between different bodies of water, not releasing pets into the wild, safely disposing of aquarium water, and volunteering for invasive species removal efforts you can help prevent the spread of many invasive species across the world.
In addition, promoting environmental causes against the spread of invasive species is a great way to inform others about the threats these organisms pose to local ecosystems. And by becoming an environmentalist, you can help inform others about the preventive measures crucial for preventing a disastrous imbalance of the ecosystem. Every organism on Earth relies on its fellow native species for their own survival and humanity is certainly no exception. Because of this, it's important that we all do our part in ensuring that this environmental balance is maintained and Mother Earth finds herself facing a brighter future.
Citations:
Fisheries, NOAA. “Impacts of Invasive Lionfish.” NOAA, www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/ecosystems/impacts-invasive-lionfish#:~:text=Lionfish%20are%20native%20to%20coral,South%20Pacific%20and%20Indian%20Oceans.&text=This%20is%20an%20invasive%20species,fishes%20that%20depend%20on%20them.
“Invasive Species.” National Wildlife Federation, www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Threats-to-Wildlife/Invasive-Species.
“Invasive Species: What You Can Do.” The Nature Conservancy, 7 July 2013, www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-priorities/protect-water-and-land/land-and-water-stories/invasive-plant-species-invasive-species-education-1/.
Tennessen, Tina. 5 Invasive Species You Should Know, 14 May 2018, ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/5-invasive-species-you-should-know.
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