Monday’s discussion about invasive species and their impact
on the Adirondacks really left me feeling helpless. An invasive species, by
definition, is a non-native species that has deleterious effects on the
environment that is nearly impossible to extricate for its lack of predator. As
of 2015, there were 35 invasive species in or near the Adirondack Park. The existence of these invasive species with no answer as to how to remove them left me feeling overwhelmed for the future of the park. However,
I also discovered that there are equally as many organizations as invasives working to
prevent the introduction of invasive species in the future.
Take the community surrounding Lake George as an example.
Individuals around Lake George have created an organization, the Lake George
Association (LGA), to conserve and protect Lake George from spreading invasive
species. As of 2015, Lake George has been plagued by 6 invasive species – the
Asian clam, the Chinese mystery snail, the curly-leaf pondweed, the Eurasian
water milfoil, the spiny water flea, and the zebra mussels. In response, the
Lake George Association works to eradicate the existing invasives and prevent
migration of Lake George invasive species to other regions of the Adirondacks.
The LGA, along with other conservation groups in the
Adirondacks such as the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP), utilize
an arsenal of techniques to prevent the spread of invasive species in the
Adirondacks. Firstly, the groups work to educate the community that uses the
Adirondack Park on the existence of invasive species and how to prevent
spreading them. For example, I’ve included a movie clip of how to properly
clean a boat to prevent invasive species spread. Secondly, the organizations
monitor regions of the park for outcroppings of invasive species and extricate
the invasives, should they find any. Thirdly, the groups promote lake-friendly
living and how to avoid introducing more invasive species in the future.
Although it isn’t a perfect system, the local and government
efforts to prevent/get rid of invasive species through education, mapping and
planning show the possibility of how humans can help the Adirondack Park evade
the invasives.
How to Properly Clean a Boat to Avoid Spreading Invasives According
to the LGA
Definition of Invasive Species:
Invasive Species in the Adirondack Park
Lake George Association Website
Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program Website
I think this is a very interesting topic and it also relates to my post on invasive species in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River as a result of canal construction in Chicago. I believe you are right, half the battle with invasive species is educating people about the topic and its environmental impact and also teaching individuals how to take precautions to not introduce invasive species. But I am still curious if there are any solutions to undoing species invasion that has already occurred. In Chicago, filling in the canal does not eliminate species invasion that has already taken place, it only prevents further invasion. You mention that people are working to eradicate invasive species in Lake George and I was wondering if these techniques could be applied to a the Mississippi River, which is very large and already has over a hundred invasive species inhabiting it. What kind of species eradication techniques did you come across if you did come across any? And do the techniques themselves have negative effects on the environment?
ReplyDeleteAn important fact to remember: nature is dynamic! All plant and animal species were, at one point, "invasive" to the area that they have now come to dominate or else co-inhabit. There is really no way to "eradicate" invasive species. You can minimize their damage, yes, but I cannot think of one case where a successful eradication of a species has occurred-- you just can't stop organisms from moving around! It's the secret to species survival in a constantly changing world. While some organisms get out of hand, yes, and some (a lot) of invasives are our fault, often the best case is to allow nature to adopt the organism into its web. Eventually, biological controls will be introduced as another plant or animal moves in that benefits from the presence of the original invasive. That's how biological communities work! Nature is cool.
ReplyDeleteI second Emily's comment and think that perhaps we should spend more of our efforts on the prevention of human-caused invasive species instead of trying to remove existing ones. While I think we should also try to contain the spread of current invasive species (often with the same practices used to prevent the spread of new species), it seems as though we may be doing more damage to ecosystems by trying to remove a species that has firmly cemented itself within the ecosystem and that we can be much more "helpful" to the environment by mitigating further damage to surrounding ecosystems and preventing these invasion while still allowing ecosystems to be in a happy state of constant change.
ReplyDeleteNow that I step back and consider it, Emily and Gaby both make a good point about invasive species eradication. I have never heard of an invasive species being completely removed from an environment once it has invaded. Even the websites focus more on educating the public on the impacts of invasives and how not to spread them instead of getting rid of the species that exist. I still think it’s important to consider the impact that these invasive species have on the environment that they inhabit and how they use resources from the original community. Do the pre-existing species have a right to these resources? Or should nature be allowed to run its course and whichever species is best adapted to harnessing resources attain those resources?
ReplyDeleteJohn, you brought up a point that I didn’t consider before – the environmental impact of trying to eradicate invasive species. I looked back at the Invasive Species in the Adirondack Park website and found that there are many techniques to get rid of invasives. For example, regions with the Asian Longhorned Beetle are quarantined, and the trees that the beetles make their homes in are cut, chopped, burned or sprayed with insecticides. In contrast, if the Asian Clam is contained in a closed system, chemical and mechanical methods can be used to eradicate the species. Each method of removal (if it exists) is tailored to each invasive species. I could definitely see a lot of the methods having an extremely negative environmental impact. For more info about specific methods used, I’d check out the Invasive Species in the Adirondack Park website.