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