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100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species

Posted by michael on from the face-huggers-not-counted dept.

Ant writes "100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species list says: 'Invasive species have been recognised globally as a major threat to biodiversity (the collected wealth of the world's species of plants, animals and other organisms) as well as to agriculture and other human interests. It is very difficult to choose 100 invasive species, from around the world, that really are "worse" than any others. Species and their interactions with ecosystems are very complex. Some species may have invaded only a restricted region, but have a huge probability of expanding, and causing further great damage (e.g. see Boiga irregularis: the brown tree snake). Other species may already be globally widespread, and causing cumulative but less visible damage. Many biological families or genera contain large numbers of invasive species, often with similar impacts; in these cases one representative species was chosen. The one hundred species aim to collectively illustrate the range of impacts caused by biological invasion.'"

7 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. It seems we would be on top of the list. by HerbanLegend · · Score: 5, Insightful

    C'mon, Humans have got to rank someplace on that list.

    First Post!

    1. Re:It seems we would be on top of the list. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful
      C'mon, Humans have got to rank someplace on that list.

      Some place?! Not only should we be #1 on that list, we are the ones responsible for everything on that list being there. It's not like they all decided to be invasive and just hopped on an airplane.

    2. Re:It seems we would be on top of the list. by toiletmonster · · Score: 3, Insightful

      right because no time in the history of the planet has one species moved from one area to another. in no time in the history of the planet has one species out competed and destroyed another. change is always bad and never brings anything good. nature is entirely communist and animals and rocks live together in spirtual harmany working together for the good of the whole.

      its called evolution and survival of the fittest. the only good reason to have a list like this is if these are pests messing with the economy. otherwise who cares?

    3. Re:It seems we would be on top of the list. by Pinkoir · · Score: 3, Insightful

      its called evolution and survival of the fittest. the only good reason to have a list like this is if these are pests messing with the economy. otherwise who cares?

      True enough, I'm not one of those who thinks that the world needs to be locked in stasis. Nature evolves constantly and it's changing now in response to us. Sadly, many people seem to think that they somehow exist outside "nature" just because they can't see it out the window of their SUV. Does it really matter if it's one species of Lady-bug or another that's eating the aphids? Yes, if one of those species is too bad-ass to be kept down by the local ecosystem and takes off on some xenocidal bug rampage until there is nothing left but them and the plants which soon die out because there are no pollinators left.

      Problem is that while we humies are great at adapting to new environments we are fookin' terrible at predicting complex systems. Who knows if the vine we introduce now won't end up somehow destroying the lumber industry 25 years hence. If we go too far on the path of not giving a rat's ass about the balance of the ecosystems we inhabit then we will end up having to manage and control them ourselves which will take a lot of effort and energy. It seems incredibly short sighted and foolish to take the position that something is OK just because it doesn't damage us in the immediate near-term.

      -Pinkoir

  2. Interesting list... by stienman · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Apparently #38 is the common cat. I hadn't thought of cats as invasive, but I'm surprised that it's considered so invasive. I imagine they are so high on the list because of their numbers, and few people think of them in this way.

    -Adam

  3. Forgot one by Polo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I would say:

    1) Homo Sapiens

    To quote the entry: "few single species occupy as many diverse environments as humans"

  4. The trouble with species introduction by baldinux · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Great article. Thanks Ant.

    Introduced species brought in to stimulate this (profit) or eradicate that ("pests"), have brought about consequences to our generation and those after us, the obvious one being the trampling and eradication of native species that have adapted to their particular region over many generations -- key players in that area's natural system. These are being dominated by "foreigners" -- many of which have made the list -- often with consequences that may not be discovered for many years.

    I have family in Hawai'i, and anyone who's flown to or from Honolulu Int'l knows how strict the authorities are there. Fragile, geologically young, natural systems are especially at risk for species introduction, as evidenced by the mongoose (brought in to eradicate another species), as one example. The mongoose has seriously threatened the native bird populations on Oahu and many neighbor islands.

    It's fun to tackle serious issues with a touch of humor. Make no mistake, though. This is a very serious issue that is being taken very seriously, especially by those fragile island regions most threatened by these invasions, and even by geologically older regions dealing with invasive ivys and other (introduced) pests that cost money to deal with.