Martin, C. (2017, March 7). Invasive Species, Climate Change Threaten Great Lakes. Ecosystems | Science News. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/invasive-species-climate-change-threaten-great-lakes.
In the last 200 years, the Great Lakes have become a hotspot for invasive aquatic species. The lakes contain 20 percent of all of Earth’s freshwater, and receive travel from freighters coming from all over the world. Almost 200 nonnative species now have established populations in the lakes. Alewives, sea lampreys and zebra and quagga mussels have thrown off the food web and the ecosystem stability of the lakes is, as a result, at risk. Scientists, however, are making progress in combating these issues by doing gene research on slowing nonnative population growth, as well as more effective solutions for releasing ballast water that has been carried thousands of miles.
This article illustrates how invasive species can quickly dominate an entire region and throw its ecosystem off-balance. Many ecosystems in the United States have become so influenced by nonnative species that it’s difficult to even determine what the area looked like and how the food web functioned without outside species from Europe or Asia. Another example of an invasive species that has come to dominate, and even become representative, of its new region is the Mediterranean grass found all throughout California. The grasses have become so out-of-control that, at this point in history, it is impossible to try to eliminate the species from the state. A result of this has been an increasing number of wildfires that thrive on the dead grasses during hot, dry seasons. Scientific research is thus crucial to understanding how we can restore these ecosystems back to their original, and most stable, populations before the species explode and make ecosystem restoration impossible.
Unfortunately, I think you are right- these invasives are so out of control it may be impossible to eradicate them. Watch out for the Asian Carp if you’re boating there- they are attracted by the hum of the motors and leap out of the water and are so big they have actually killed people- knocking them out of the boat, and then they drown. Crazy! CA grass is another good example- an invasive planted here intentionally. So, moving forward- how do we manage for these invasives. Some clearly harder to deal with than others, some more damaging than others. Seems like gene research could hold promise, albeit slow… and expensive. I hope your topic kept you intrigued this year Martha and you found some uplifting ones too. It’s such a huge env. issue. Thanks for all your work on this.
Invasive species are becoming an increasingly large issue in our ecosystems. Zebra mussels are an issue that we have to face in lakes near us. We need to find a way to stop the spread of these invasive species and I believe that we can though enough scientific research.