Invasive Species Effects On The Environment

Their is a growing and spreading problem in the world, and it is growing in our own backyard. Reports from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services show invasive species cost the United States more than $120 billion in damages every year and that number is on the rise. New invasive species are entering the United States each day and each has the potential to cause mass destruction to our ecosystem and economy if not taken care of. Some animals have already taken hold and are having disastrous effects.

An invasive species is an organism causing ecological or economic harm in a new environment where it is not native (“What Is an Invasive Species?”). These animals can cause mass amounts of damage to the areas they are invading. They destroy native wildlife and can destroy an economy.

However, of 50,000 species, approximately 4,300 have been considered invasive species (Pimentel, 2004). Of these 4,300, a few are having major effects on the United States and are a threat to peoples way of life.

Originally the Asian Carp was introduced by humans in an attempt to address another problem, mainly to remove algae from catfish farms and wastewater treatment ponds in the 1970s. But sometime in the next two decades, the fish escaped their enclosures, most likely due to several large floods in the '90s (Visser), and then they began to spread. Currently the Asian Carp is in 45 states, bighead carp have been collected from 18 of these states, silver carp from 12 states, and black carp from only Illinois (U.S Fish & Wildlife