Assignment: Explain in 200-250 words how invasive species are bad for Biodiversity. Include a systems diagram.
Invasive species are one of the sneakiest threats to biodiversity out of all of the factors. The reason is because total wildlife population may stay the same, while one single species is taking over. Say we have a small lake with a certain fish’s population skyrocketing. Most people will see this and think it’s good news, more fish means more biodiverse to those who are uneducated. In reality, this one kind of fish is taking up all the food, space, and other resources in the lake, while the other fish get less and less. After awhile, you will be left with only the one kind of fish, unless a major change happens. Suppose this one fish is also a fierce predator to the other fish. This means that as its population is going up, more and more other fish are getting killed at an exponential rate. This can happen to any kind of animal, not just fish. There had been a species of bird living in Guam for years, until World War II when a cargo ship accidentally carried over a deadly snake. These snakes continued to kill every bird, until they were nearly extirpated from the area. This is one example of why we must be mindful of what animals we are taking to what places
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Hi! My name is Jacqueline and here’s a link to my blog!
https://wp.me/p3RCAy-eUQ
Your blog post caught my eye because it was one of the first ones that I saw that talked about invasive species. You had some great points about how when people first see that a new population comes, it is seen as a positive and good for the environment and the biodiversity of the area. In reality, these new species can do incredible harm and throw off the balance of the ecosystem in place. Your diagram was very well laid out and helpful to understand the how much of a chain reaction happens when there is a balance change in the ecosystem, not only a new population but also if there is an increase in a preexisting population.
Great post!
Hi, my names Zoe and here is my blog post:http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/04/14/module-10-blog-post/
I really like how you did your blog on invasive species. Last semester I took an environmental science class where we learned all about invasive species and I really liked learning about it! You made some great points. I also think you did a great job on the system diagram and relating that to your post.
Hi, I’m Tanya. You can check out my module 10 blog post here: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/04/14/biodiversity-and-iucn-t-smith/
You topic is interesting to me. I speak of protection of one species actually hurting the existence of another. I’d be interested to see just what effects of the fish dying has other other species in the water. I would suspect this would affect things down to even algae. The feedback mechanisms would even be altered! Something that seems so small can really have a large impact on the environment as a whole.
Hello, my name’s Lexie and you can find my post here: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/04/13/lexie-gersbacher-mod10-protected-areas/
I liked the topic you picked! I think it’s a really important topic that not many people are aware about. Do you have any suggestions on what we can do, as college students, to try and decrease this threat to biodiversity? I also like how you put in a little history to show how this is something that’s been happening for many years.