Progress review

So far I’ve been writing this blog for the Global Environmental Change module that I have studied as part of the MSc Climate Change course at UCL. Tomorrow the module unfortunately comes to an end, so it seems that today is an appropriate time to review my blog. As someone who had never blogged before, I was apprehensive when I started and was unsure as to how the blog would progress. Looking back at my blog archive, there are some key themes that run throughout the posts which have helped me form my current opinion on invasive species. Here goes an attempt to summarise my blog…

Historically invasive species were spread around the globe by human transportation, although natural environmental changes also led to the introduction of some invasives. These species are most commonly known for the negative effect that they have on ecological systems however, perhaps the neutral or positive impacts just aren’t headline material. As a result conservation efforts have focused on preventing and eradicating established invasives, such as the Himalayan balsam. Some people have even tried to eat them out of existence! Despite this established invaders are often very persistent and survive, so scientists have promoted citizen science to try and gain a clearer picture of just how widespread invasives really are. In the present day it appears that human induced climate change is the new driver of invasives and ecological communities now consist of species from all over the world. Climate change primarily leads to the spread of invasives by causing species to change their geographic distribution in order to survive physiological stress induced by increased temperature. Additionally, changes in the physical environment will soon enable humans to transport invasives as far as the North Pole. Perhaps it’s therefore time to change our opinion on invasive species when we strive to protect global biodiversity.

On a final note I would like to thank everyone for their comments and feedback. It has been very encouraging and has helped me direct my blog to relevant issues. I hope to continue blogging throughout the rest of the year however, I apologise in advance if the posts aren’t as regular as they have been to date!

Thanks again,

Elena

UK floods 2014

I'm sure you will be aware of the devastating floods that have occurred across much of coastal Britain this January. Alarmingly the occurrence of extreme weather events is set to increase as a consequence of climate change (IPCC, 2013). Furthermore it seems that flooding is just another way that invasive species can be spread - check out this news story. I've posted this just to illustrate the growing amount of evidence that suggests it is no longer possible to prevent the spread of invasive species.

Time for change

Protected areas are established throughout the world to promote biodiversity and protect species from human activity. Not even protected areas however, are almighty enough to safeguard plants and animals from climate change; even in “natural” and “protected” systems unavoidable changes are taking place (Walther et al., 2002). Additionally, research has shown that species from protected areas are vacating them in refuge of cooler temperatures, which in turn provides empty niches for new species to invade (Gillingham). Walther et al., (2002) describes how current established communities often consist of species from all over the word. This increased understanding of the frequency and magnitude of species invasions around the world is summarised by the term "The Homogocene" (Rosenzweig, 2001). Although you may disagree, this suggests that me there are no longer “native” species and “invasive” species. 

It’s not surprising the recently released IPCC report indicated that climate change will continue to rapidly warm the planet into 2100. For this reason alone, I don’t think that it’s in the best interest of ecological conservation to prevent species from migrating to cooler temperatures. This is because research has already shown that if species cannot evolve to tolerate high temperatures in their current location, they suffer an increased risk of extinction (Thomas et al., 2003).  Thus, I think that such invaders should also be considered “legal aliens” in the same way as I described relating to the Great American Interchange.

Chris Thomas, recently released an article in Nature, urging people to rethink their views on 
global environmental change and invasive species. Despite the negative impact of invasive species, I was startled to read that Britain “has gained 1875, established non-native species without yet losing anything to the invaders”. Chris argued that we cannot stop change, and just because invasive species are new to the location which they arrive, it doesn’t mean we have to get rid of them. Although there is sometimes a need to try and eradicate invasives that have an extremely detrimental impact on ecological systems, Chris stated:

“It is a mistake to misdirect valuable and increasingly scarce conservation funds into unwinnable wars.” 

Personally I am in agreement with Chris Thomas, it's time to change our view on invasive species. Instead of eradication we should look to conservation methods such as habitat management to promote biodiversity. Let me know what you think.

Elena 

Country File

Just a quick post in case you are running out of TV to watch as the Christmas holiday comes to an end! I would highly recommend watching the latest episode of Country File - “Wildlife winners and losers”. Presenter Ellie Harrison takes a look at some of the invasive species in Britain and discusses the latest plans to reintroduce the Lynx back into the British countryside. Click here to watch it on BBC iPlayer, but you’ll have to be quick as it’s only available until Jan 12^th!