The Nuance of Invasive Species

An audio-version of our written article: https://www.propagateag.com/blog/the-nuance-of-invasive-speciesThe Threat of Invasive SpeciesThe American Chestnut (blight) and Climate AnaloguesNative to when? → Black Locust's native rangeThose who live in glass houses... Introspection without despair.What can we do? Narrative vs. Action.Agroforestry Systems as an actionable next stepIntro:Invasive species are non-native plants, animals, fungi, and pathogens that spread aggressively and disrupt native ecosystems.Documentary films on invasive species abound. Complete with dark humor and foreboding music, one memorable film featured cane toads in Australia. In 1935, 100 cane toads were introduced for pest control. They swiftly became a fleet of 200 million toads. These frogs are 6-10 inches long, and have toxic glands behind their head which poison the animals that attempt to eat them. When these predators die, the ecosystem loses balance: animals that would have otherwise been their prey explode in population. Invasive animals can be extremely problematic, given how fast they move. Domestic cats, introduced to Australia with British colonization, are responsible for the extinction of 29 species of mammals indigenous to Australia. After broad habitat destruction, domestic cats are the #1 cause of bird death in North America. Stateside, feral swine are responsible for $1.6b in damages to the agricultural industry. Burmese pythons are decimating native mammal populations in the Florida Everglades. Alien invasive animals, fungi, and insects make for a loaded term: invasive. Trees and shrubs can also be invasive, even though they move more slowly than animals. But there’s nuance here. Today we’ll unpack invasive species.