POB3 Invasive Species

Terminology

Weed/plants

Pest/Animals

Organism outside native range

Alien, exotic, non-native, non-indigenous

Indicating ability to spread

Invasive

Noxious

Examples in Ohio (monocultures)

Garlic mustard, Buckthorn, Purple loosestrife

Negative impacts on native animals

Spotted knapweed, reduced foraging for local fauna

Ohio examples

feral pigs, zebra mussels

Zebra mussels

Native to russia → US from ballast water

Disperse as larvae, still spreading through US

Plankton predators

Norway Maple distribution

Decreased recruitment of native species in presence of invasive species

• Norway maple has negative impact on seedling and sapling

Garlic Mustard

decreases salamander habitats

Cheatgrass

Europe and asia → US in 1890s

Altered fire cycles

Gorse

Changes soil chemistry, Nitrogen fixation, makes easier for other invasive species to colonize

Salt Cedar

Changes hydrology, dries up watersheds

Water Chestnut

Changes water quality

Monoculture

Only one species present

Economic Impacts

Est. cost of $1.13 trillion in damages since 1960s

>$1000 annually per household

Invasion Process and managements

Species in pathway ————- Prevention

Transported and released alive————————-Early detection, rapid response

Population established———————-Control and slow spread

Spread——————-Human adaptation (change behavior and bear costs)

Ecological, health, or economic impact