According to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature organization, the Mojave Desert ranks as the smallest desert among the four existing in America. Just like any other desert, it faces numerous threats to its wildlife and environment. An example includes the introduction of invasive species into their territory. The University of Nevada agrees that the invasive plant numbers are growing mainly from the results of human disturbance, which is a tremendous issue that can harm both plants and animals. Invasive species affect the diets of desert animals, their existence, and the populations of native plants.
Invasive plants are rapidly sneaking their way into the desert ecosystem, and it is taking a toll on the diets of desert tortoises. “Invasion by nonnative plants can affect the quality and quantity of plant food available to tortoises and can thereby affect their intake of important nutrients,” says the Journal of Herpetology. The Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee brings up a 2002 study comprising of the identification of over 100 species of invasive plants growing in desert tortoise habitats within the Mojave and Colorado deserts. Tortoises’ diets contain 95% of native plants as
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Alien plants include flowers used only for the purpose of landscaping and plants that hail from other regions that are not from the desert. Humans are the ringmasters of furthering the spread of invasive species. 90% of the cause of tortoise decline is obtained from human activity. Nonnative seeds attach to our vehicles, clothes, and pets. Consequently, the seeds fall on native soil and occupy vacant space, preventing native plants to grow properly. Alien species steal the water and nutrients that the native plants could convenience from. Eventually, native plants may soon deteriorate and will leave the alien species an advantage to disperse throughout the entirety of the desert