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How Introduced
Species Affect
Ecosystems
Science 10 – Chapter 3.3
Native species
• Native species are species that naturally inhabit an area
– British Columbia is home to about 3,000 species of native plants, including ferns,
wildflowers, shrubs and trees. These native plants have co-evolved with animals,
fungi, and microbes to form a complex network of relationships.
Lilium columbianum
(Columbia lily)
npsbc: Native Plant Society of British Columbia
Native Species
Myosotis asiatica
(Mountain Forget-Me-Not)
Native Species
Rubus idaeus (Raspberry)
Native Species
Thamnophis sirtalis
Coccinellidae
Common Garter Snake
Lady Bug
Introduced Species
• Non-native, exotic, or alien species
• Brought intentionally or not intentionally by humans.
• Most are harmless or beneficial to the environment
Salmo trutta
Brown Trout
Introduced species
Invasive species
• Introduced species that take over the habitat of native species or can
invade the bodies of native species.
• Competition – have an advantage over natural habitants
• Predation – interactions between predator and prey not established
• Disease and parasites – gives the less dominant species an upper hand
• Habitat alteration
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Change light and oxygen conditions
Change soil chemistry
Change nutrient cycling, pollination, energy flow
Spreading weeds
Eat the native birds, reptiles, amphibians, soil organisms, fruits and vegetation
Invasive species
Harmonia-axyridis
Asian Lady Beetle
INVASIVE- Introduced 1970’s
Native Ladybug!
9 spots!
Invasive Species
• English Ivy in Stanley Park
• In Stanley Park there are
72 non-native, invasive
plant species.
• SPES – Stanley Park
Ecology Society
Australia
• Australia is host to 56 introduced invasive vertebrate animal species
– Cane Toad
– Red Fox
– European Rabbit
– Dromedary Camel
– Water Buffalo
– Feral cats, pigs, donkeys, and goats!
• Feral: descendants of domesticated animals
European Rabbit in Australia
• 24 rabbits brought to Australia in 1859 by estate
owner Thomas Austin in Eastern Australia
• No predators
• Could breed all year with perfect climate
• Ate all the farmer’s crops, outcompeted the
native rabbit
• In 1901-1907 Australia built the RABBIT PROOF
FENCE to halt western expansion!
– Now called State Barrier Fence of Western Australia
– 1833 km long!
– Following the introduction of myxomatosis (a rabbit
virus) to control rabbits in the 1950s, the importance
of the rabbit-proof fence diminished
Invasive Species in BC
• Eastern Grey Squirrel
• The Eastern grey squirrel is one of seven mammals among the 173 invasive
species identified by the Garry Oak Ecosystem Recovery Team (GOERT) as a
species of concern to Garry oak and associated ecosystems.
Garry Oak Invaders
• Eastern Grey Squirrel
• Gypsy moth
• Scotch Broom
ISCMV: Invasive Species Council of Metro
Vancouver
• Raises the profile of invasive species
• Provides education to the public and land managers on invasive species
• Provides land managers assistance with planning invasive species
management
• Conducts on-the-ground management of invasive plants (inventory and
control)
• Conducts research activities pertaining to invasive species management
• Provides regional direction on invasive species management
ISCMV put invasive species into 5 categories
• Prevent – not here but close by!
– kudzu
• Eradicate – if we act quickly we can get rid of the species
– Common reed
• Control – widespread, very little chance of eradication (not isolated)
– Scotch broom – purple loosestrife
• Contain – isolated but with low chance of eradication
– Giant hogweed
• Bio-control – scientists are hard at work on this method to use another
species to control the problem without creating new problems!
Giant Hogweed
Unit 1 is now complete!
• Biomes and ecosystems are divisions of the biosphere
– Biotic and abiotic components
– Adaptations – the characteristics that help species survive
– Biotic interactions – symbiosis, competition, predation
• Energy flow and nutrient cycles support life in ecosystems
– Food pyramids, food chains, food webs
– Nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorous
– Humans and persistent organic pollutants, bioaccumulation
• Ecosystems continually change over time
– Natural changes – natural selection, adaptive radiation, natural events
– Human influence - carbon footprint, agriculture, resource exploitation
– Introduced species – invasive species can destroy an ecosystem