Invasive species are animals or plants from another region of the world that don’t belong in their new environment. They can be introduced to an area by ship ballast water, accidental release, and most often, by people.

Source of invasives Sometimes they are brought in on purpose, but often they arrive unintentionally. Today, invasive alien species are still being imported intentionally into Canada from around the world for use in many areas, from agriculture and horticulture to the pet trade to medical and scientific research.

They are often introduced as a result of the globalisation of economies through the movement of people and goods, for instance via shipping, consignments of wood products carrying insects, or the transport of ornamental plants to new areas.

If a new habitat is similar enough to a species’ native habitat, it may survive and reproduce. For a species to become invasive, it must successfully out-compete native organisms for food and habitat, spread through its new environment, increase its population and harm ecosystems in its introduced range.

10 Ways You Can Prevent the Spread of Invasive Species

1. Clean your hiking and fishing gear.
2. Don’t move firewood.
3. Fish using native bait when possible.
4. Volunteer at removal efforts.
5. Talk to your local nursery when selecting plants for your garden.
6. Clean your boat before transferring to a new body of water.

Common invasive species traits include the following:

• Fast growth.
• Rapid reproduction.
• High dispersal ability.
• Phenotype plasticity (the ability to alter growth form to suit current conditions)
• Tolerance of a wide range of environmental conditions (Ecological competence)

Invasive species are harmful to our natural resources (fish, wildlife, plants and overall ecosystem health) because they disrupt natural communities and ecological processes. Even if the native species are not completely eliminated, the ecosystem often becomes much less diverse.

Figure 1

China suffers from invasive species — china.org.cn. China is one of the countries which suffer the most from the invasion of alien species, with a record number of at least 283 species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has identified the world’s 100 worst invasive alien species.

Brazil

Florida

Regulations promulgated under these laws are found in the Code of Federal Regulations, specifically in CFR 319. Prohibited plants include such valuable crops and natural flora as apples, bamboo, citrus, elms, grapes, grasses, maples, peaches, potatoes, rice, sweet potato, and sugarcane.

In summary, for a species to be truly invasive in an ecosystem, it has to be able to spread quickly over great distances. This is why the focus on invasive species is on its ability to spread by seeds. Bamboo is only expansive on a small localized scale because viable spreading only occurs from the root system.