Invertebrate Invasive Species

As stated previously invasive species consist of plants, animals, and pathogens and there are thousands of invasive species, not just in the U.S. but, in the world. The animal invasive species are separated into two categories; vertebrates and invertebrates. Vertebrate invasive species consist of the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis), Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus), common starling (Sturnus Vulgaris), and the wild boar (Sus scrofa). The brown tree snake is a native of Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solman Islands, researchers seem to believe the brown tree snake hitchhiked to Guam on military aircraft in the late 1940s early 1950s (Lowe S., Browne M., 2000). Examples of invertebrate invasive species consist

For example, plants and animals such as the English Ivy and Burmese Python may round to about $120 billion worth of damage per year. Many government agencies like the Fish and Wildlife Service provide a tremendous number of budgets to help find and prevent invaders. These species not only accumulate large sums of money but also time. The U.S. receives numerous amounts of non-native species, usually through exotic pet trade, yet no one takes the time to figure out what makes these species invasive. Understanding the causes and budgeting government funding will allow the U.S. to prevent outbreaks of invaders. According to the team of researchers led by Springborn, it is reported that the net benefits of a risk screening system used to help identify potential invasive species ranged about $54,000 to $120,000 per species (Michael Springborn, University of California-Davis). The conclusion for finding these costly species and using the system to help do so, prevents any invaders before they can actually invade. While examining the benefits of invasive species preventions, it is necessary to consider the long term damages of these species. Spread rates, invasion ranges, and geographic resource distribution must be taken under consideration during the cost of prevention. Usually there is only the short term damages that are examined, defeating the purpose of potential prevention and needed quarantine. One

Once a habitat is physically altered, even if and when the invader is removed, it becomes difficult or impossible to reverse the effects. For example, Nile perch is a fish that can grow to enormous sizes, some measuring up to 6 feet long and weighing over four hundred pounds. They are considered to be one of the planets worst invasive species. They’re native to freshwater lakes and rivers in Africa and after being introduced to Lake Victoria in the 1950’s the population exploded. With such great numbers these species are responsible for the extinction or near extinction of several hundred native species. The Nile perch can cause substantial damage due to its appetite for creatures that support their ecosystem. Another example of an invasive species is the Asian tiger mosquito