Designer: Lady-Nadya

INTRODUCED SPECIES
As humans, we have the ability and the power to move certain species to different environments for our own benefits. Over the years, our idiocy and greed has caused certain breeds of animal to be introduced into a non-native climate, causing more problems than we began with. As early as the eighteen hundreds, possibly earlier, travelers and sailors have introduced different species to their destinations either by accident, or deliberately, for different reasons. Most of the time we did not pause to consider the environment and economic impact this could have on the future of the land, or upon ourselves. Introducing different species to different environments can disrupt the food chain, contribute to native species loss and can wipe out previously grown plants or crops. They can wreak havoc upon native animals and cost our governments millions to try and stop, before they become out of control. Non-Native species have caused many problems for governments around the world as it takes resources and funding to eliminate these pests once they have taken root. Although some animals are introduced naturally, by being swept by tides and currents or blow by gales to different locations, Humans have sped up this process by introducing multiple animals so that they can breed together and create a start for that species in its new home.

Some of the best examples of the destruction of introduced species are found on island ecosystems. After breaking away from whichever land mass they came from thousands of years ago, Islands have unique ecosystems that have possibly developed a different food chain and different species than its nearby mainland. Introducing predators onto these Islands can wipeout native species that previously had no predators, and had evolved to have no defense mechanisms. Subsequently, this can also happen to plants. Once these unique plants are gone, the animals that depend on them as their food source die out. An example of an introduced species on an Island is the common rat to New Zealand by Europeans during the 1850’s. The rat was brought accidentally aboard boats in the first years of settlement, and had a devastating impact upon the native bird life, as almost all of New Zealand’s native birds are flightless. As a result of the rat and the later introduced cat, the Stephen’s island wren and many other native birds are extinct. But not all introduced species are introduced accidentally. Many species have been introduced purposely by humans to benefit our society, but very few have been successful.

In 1940 the Cane Toad was introduced into the Queensland cane fields to help control the native Cane Beetle that was costing farmers millions each year. Native to America, the Cane Toad was a natural predator of another cane beetle similair to the Australian beetle, so it was introduced to the Australian ecosystem to help combat the cane farmers worst enemy. They multiplied rapidly, and in forty years had covered the whole of Queensland and were rapidly headed north. Because of the Cane Toads poison, it is now responsible for the deaths of many native small mammals, birds and reptiles who try to either eat the Toad, its tadpoles or its eggs. The toad is also a carrier of many viruses and diseases that cause havoc to our biodiversity. This animal was introduced on purpose to try and stop the cane beetle, but it has instead damaged our environment and the animals in it, and become an unwanted pest. Humans and humans only, are causing these problems by introducing species that will play havoc with the already existing ecosystem, so it is only right that we are the ones to fix these problems.

The solutions to these problems lie within each countries willingness to adapt and change. Introducing species purposely needs to be a careful consideration by many experts in various fields, such as environmentalists, ecologists, . If Australia were to do something like introducing the Cane Toad again, there should be steps created to allow for planning and various scientific experiments. All concepts should be taken into consideration such as how quickly does this animal breed, what it eats/what eats it, what impacts it could have on our environment etc. We should also draw on the past and look to examples of similair introduced species in different countries. Even though their climate may be somewhat different to ours, scientists can look at results of the animal and the pest to see whether introducing this species will actually have an effect. Animals can be successfully introduced if thorough research is conducted. An example would be Chaetorellia acrolophi, a small fly introduced into North America for weed biocontrol in 1996. This fly has successfully reduced numbers of a tall and pesky weed that was poisonous to most Native American mammals aswell as agricultural livestock. Scientists and environmental researchers took 4 years to complete studies and a further 2 for tests before stating the introduction of the fly would have minimal damage to the environment and would successfully help reduce weed numbers.

Animals that are accidentally introduced are harder to contain as most of the time we are unaware of them. Prevention is difficult because we need transport such as boats, cars, trucks and airplanes in which some introduced species hitchhike. Prevention however is more economical than treating the problems caused by animals that manage to evade our protective barriers and quarantine. Australia’s quarantine standards are extremely strict and very little gets past it. Interstate prevention is a little less strict, and I believe that is where the problem lies. Cane Toads in particular have been found in the backs of trucks in banana boxes in WA, aswell as in aeroplanes shipping food from the eastern states and Queensland. Measures should be tightened so that this does not happen. If boxes were searched before leaving the farm, whilst at the airport and once again when arriving in their destination this decreases the risk of finding an unwanted animal amongst the crop. This could also create more jobs, which in turn benefits the economy, as more people are working, and less money will be spent on having to eliminate pests once they take hold.

Many Introduced Species are either accidentally, or purposely, introduced into non-native habitats each year. Many of these species have devastating effects upon the native environment and its inhabiting creatures, by either eliminating food sources, preying on them or poisoning them. It is up to us to stop to think the consequences of introducing a species to the environment, and up to us to stop them hitchhiking across borders and through the air. Nature has its own cycle and its own order, but if we mess this up, and it cannot cope, it is up to us to put it right.



Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introduced_species
http://www.kcc.org.nz/birds/extinct.asp
http://www.austmus.gov.au/factsheets/canetoad.htm
http://www.darwinfoundation.org/en/galapagos/species/introduced
http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/diptera/tephriti/TephInSp.htm