Beautiful Plants or Harmful Aliens?

Beautiful Plants or Harmful Aliens?

             

             We are two conservation biology students studying at Memorial University of Newfoundland. This is a blog for our conservation 4650 class being written in order to highlight how conservation and invasive species practice in Newfoundland and Labrador compares to that of Canada and the rest of the world. 

We have all been exposed to harmful aliens in our lifetime. Most of us are unaware of the aliens among us.  Now we aren’t referring to small green beings from the planet mars, here we are referring to the invasive non-native plants or “aliens” that have infected the island of Newfoundland. According to Primack (2010) an invasive species is defined as an introduced species that increases in abundance at the expense of native species. This is different than just an introduced or non-native species which does not cause harm (ie. Affect the growth and development of native plants growing in the same area) to an ecosystem, or drive other species out of an area. According to Dawn Bazely (Biology Department, York University, Toronto) and The MUN Botanical Gardens², 500 of 1500 plants currently found in Newfoundland are non-native. Although not all of these are invasive, even a few invasive species can dramatically change ecosystems. There are only about 900 non-native plant species in Canada, meaning that Newfoundland has approximately 55.6%. The concentration of non-native and invasive species in Newfoundland may be due to the fact that we are an island and have historically had products shipped in from around the world, some carrying non-native seeds or plants accidentally or purposely introduced into the island. An example of such a plant is the purple loosestrife that was brought into Newfoundland as an ornamental plant and has expanded and become highly invasive. Another successful invader is the black knapweed, a species we will review in greater detail next week.

Black Knapweed, Photo by: MUN Botanical Garden: http://www.mun.ca/botgarden/plant_bio/Invasive_Alien_Species/BotanicalbMar20FINAL.pdf

References:

¹Primack, R. B. (2010). Essentials of Conservation Biology fifth edition. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates Inc. pp. 549

²MUN Botanical Gardens. Pamphlet on Invasive Alien Plants in Newfoundland and Labrador: The Other “CFAs”. http://www.mun.ca/botgarden/plant_bio/Invasive_Alien_Species/BotanicalbMar20FINAL.pdf.