Over the last half-century, public awareness of non-native - frequently referred to as "invasive" - species has grown to the point that anybody with a green conscience is aware of them and their harmful repercussions.
Non-native species aren't the boogie man
The advantages of non-native species are less well known, and according to Brown University scientist Dov Sax, this has to change, as per ScienceDaily.
Sax and two co-authors pointed out in a review paper published on Thursday, Oct. 6, in Trends in Ecology and Evolution that most research on non-native species focused on their negative implications.
Long-standing prejudices against non-native species in the scientific literature, they claimed, had obscured the scientific process and hampered public comprehension.
The authors of the new article attempt to change the focus to explore the advantages of non-native species to have a more fair conversation.
According to Sax, a professor of environment and society as well as ecology, evolution, and organismal biology, positive benefits of non-native species are frequently presented as accidental surprises - the kind of thing that people may anticipate to happen once in a while, under unusual conditions.
Our new research contends that the beneficial effects of non-native species are neither unexpected nor infrequent, but rather ubiquitous, significant, and sometimes of great size.
The study borrows from a recent framework that examines the benefits of biodiversity for people and nature and applies it to non-native species, demonstrating the diverse, frequent, and important ways that non-native species provide positive value for people and nature, according to Sax, who is affiliated with the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society.
The authors, which included Martin Schlaepfer of the University of Geneva and Julian Olden of the University of Washington, acknowledged that some non-native species, such as diseases and agricultural pests, had undeniably high net costs.
They did remark, however, that most domesticated animals, including food such as wheat and tomatoes, textiles such as cotton and wool, and pets such as dogs and goldfish, bring significant net advantages to human society.
They concentrated their assessment on species that are not directly controlled by humans - so-called "wild" or "naturalized" species - noting that many of them bring both costs and advantages to both humans and the environment.
Sax also lauded the unexpected benefits of brown trout, another non-native species. Using New Zealand as an example, he stated that the majority of non-native species that have invaded the country have negative consequences, so residents are focused on eradicating them.
New Zealanders enjoy the nutritional advantages of eating brown trout and the recreational benefits of fishing brown trout so highly that they've implemented new environmental restrictions to conserve the species inside their waters, according to Sax.
Read more: Invasive Chinese Softshell Turtles Found in the Philippines, Biodiversity Experts Starting to Worry
What Qualifies a Species as "Invasive"?
An invasive species can be any form of a living organism-an amphibian (like the cane toad), plant, insect, fish, fungus, bacterium, or even an organism's seeds or eggs-that is not native to an environment and causes harm, as per National Wildlife Federation.
They have the potential to harm the environment, the economy, and even human health. Invasive species are those that grow and reproduce quickly, spread aggressively, and have the potential to cause harm.
An invasive species don't need to originate in another country. Lake trout, for example, are native to the Great Lakes but are classified as an invasive species in Yellowstone Lake in Wyoming because they compete for habitat with native cutthroat trout.
Invasive species impact animals in a variety of ways. A novel and aggressive species may be introduced into an environment with no natural predators or restrictions.
It may swiftly reproduce and spread, taking over an area. Native fauna may not have evolved defenses against the invasion, or they may be unable to compete with a predator-free species.
Invasive species pose direct hazards to native species by preying on them, competing with them for food or other resources, spreading or transporting disease, and preventing native species from breeding or killing their young.
Invasive species pose indirect dangers as well. Invasive species can alter an ecosystem's food chain by eliminating or replacing natural food sources.
The invasive species may have little or no nutritional benefit for wildlife.
Invasive species can potentially change the quantity or variety of native wildlife-friendly species.
Aggressive plant species such as kudzu may swiftly replace a diversified environment with a kudzu monoculture.
Furthermore, certain invasive species can alter ecological conditions, such as modifying soil chemistry or the intensity of wildfires.
Related article: Employing Native Predators in Dealing with Invasive Species