Invasive Species
About
- An invasive species can be any kind of living organism—an amphibian, plant, insect, fish, fungus, bacteria, or even an organism’s seeds or eggs—that is not native to an ecosystem and causes harm. They can harm the environment, the economy, or even human health.
- Common characteristics of invasive species include:
- Rapid reproduction and growth,
- High dispersal ability,
- Phenotypic plasticity (ability to adapt physiologically to new conditions), and
- Ability to survive in a wide range of environmental conditions.
- Invasive species are capable of causing extinctions of native plants and animals, reducing biodiversity, competing with native organisms for limited resources, and altering habitats.
- Major invasive species in India: Lantana camara, Prosopis juliflora, Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth), Parthenium hysterophorus, African Catfish, Red-eared Slider turtle, etc.
- It should be noted that not all introduced species are invasive. In fact, they can sometimes be beneficial. For example, some of the world’s ubiquitous foods like potatoes and tomatoes come from plants that were introduced to the rest of the world from the Americas. An introduced species is only considered invasive if it causes harm.