These are the global hotspots for “alien” invasions. Invasive species negatively influence ecosystems here
Invasive species, also known as alien species, are animal, plant or fungus species that are non-native to a certain location, but adapt to that space particularly well and lead to damage in that specific environment. Experts consider islands and mainland coastal regions to be the global “hotspots” for alien species, and these are some of the areas most prone to “alien” invasions.
Scientists have recently studied data regarding eight groups of plants and animals that inhabit 186 island and 423 mainland regions and discovered that the top three global “hotspots” for alien species are the Hawaiian Islands, the North Island of New Zealand and Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands. Their explanation takes into consideration the fact that these areas have major points of entry, such as ports, which facilitate the access of foreign species into those areas.
Great Britain turned out to be the 29th out of 540 regions in terms of established alien species with the grey squirrel being one of the most problematic, as it is a direct competitor to the native red squirrel, while Hawaii has high numbers of alien species in all of the eight groups that were included in the study. New Zealand also comes close to Hawaii, as the country has about half of its plant life made up of invasive species.
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Moreover, New Zealand has had many of its native birds suffering from foreign predators, such as cats, possums and rats.
The researchers are calling for urgent action in order to prevent the further introduction of alien species, with measures including detecting stowaway species at entry points and careful vetting of species that are proposed to be introduced to an area.
“We need to be much better at trying to prevent the introduction of species that can be harmful in the first place,” said Dr Wayne Dawson of Durham University, UK. “Prevention is better than cure with invasive species,” he concluded.
The study was published in the journal Nature, Ecology and Evolution.
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