Read Emma Maris: It’s Time to Stop Thinking that All Non-native Species are Evil.
Read this quote by Beth Sanderson et al. It highlights that many ecologists call for more funding for prevention and eradication of non-native species, due to their effect on biodiversity.
“Non-indigenous species (NIS) pose one of the dominant environmental threats to biological diversity (Vitousek et al. 1996 (Links to an external site.), Simberloff et al. 2005 (Links to an external site.)) and are cited as a cause of endangerment for 48% of the species listed under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) (Czech and Krausman 1997 (Links to an external site.), Wilcove et al. 1998 (Links to an external site.)). In 2005, NIS cost the US economy in excess of $120 billion (Pimentel et al. 2005 (Links to an external site.)), and the occurrence and ranges of NIS are steadily increasing. Despite these high environmental and economic costs, little funding is devoted to tracking the distribution and spread of NIS (Crall et al. 2006 (Links to an external site.), Lodge et al. 2006 (Links to an external site.)). Consequently, we do not know enough about NIS impacts on native species to make educated prevention and management decisions (Parker et al. 1999 (Links to an external site.)). This lack of information is especially of concern with regard to threatened or endangered species.” (from Sanders et al. 2009. Nonindigenous Species of the Pacific Northwest: An Overlooked Risk to Endangered Salmon? BioScience 59(3): pp. 245-256)
Read this excerpt from “Inside Out: Invasive Plants and Urban Environments” by S.H. Reichard.
Discussion prompts
Address these prompts in your discussion post.
Given that the negative effect of non-native species on biodiversity is well established, outline where you agree and where you disagree with the author Emma Maris. Use evidence to support your opinion – you must do this. Do not cite the articles that I assign – you must have outside sources. Cite your sources. Do not use quotations – put the information in your own words. You will be marked off if you use any quotes. I want all material in your own words. You must have and cite sources. Canvas page on citing sources.
Considering the articles, how would you propose managing species diversity in urban areas versus areas with a lot of wildlands?
Comment on the following statement: “Change is part of the history of life and we should let nature run its course rather than interfering with it.”
