Bruce you may be interested in this summary also. If it comes in all
chopped up and ugly (and I bet it will), I'm sorry-- I'm just forwarding it
as I have it. See below:
----------
> From: "Cleary, Ruark" <Ruark.Cleary_at_dep.state.fl.us>
> Reply-To: <aliens-l_at_indaba.iucn.org>
> Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 17:18:43 -0400
> To: <aliens-l_at_indaba.iucn.org>
> Subject: [Aliens-L] A Clear and Present Danger
>
>
> The "100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species" booklet
> <http://www.iucn.org/biodiversityday/100booklet.pdf> has a short overview
of
> biological invasion that asks, "What happens when a species is introduced
> into an ecosystem where it doesn't occur naturally? Will something special
be
> lost forever? Does it matter?" It goes on to say, "Today, alien invasion
is
> second only to habitat loss as a cause of species endangerment and
> extinction." But that, as we have been told, is a myth. The second
greatest
> threat to global biodiversity actually is.. uh, ... gee, Matt, what is the
> second greatest threat to the world's biodiversity?
>
> While we wait for a surely astute and conclusive answer, we can read what
> other "romantics" are saying about invasive species.
>
> The Union of Concerned Scientists in a recent publication "The National
> Invasive Species Act" <http://www.ucsusa.org/environment/nisa.pdf> states:
> "Scientists and environmentalists have worked long and hard to protect
native
> species and ecosystems from pollution and habitat loss, only to find these
> gains at risk from the unchecked spread of invasive species. Together with
> climate change, invasives are now among the most serious global
environmental
> changes underway, causing enormous damage in the United States and around
the
> world."
>
> In an earlier publication ("The Science of Invasive Species"
> <http://www.ucsusa.org/environment/ucs_science_of_invasives.pdf>), the UCS
> mentions other human-related causes of extinction: pollution,
> overexploitation,
> and disease; however, habitat destruction is still noted as the greatest
> threat. Habitat "destruction" is probably a better, albeit non-PC, term
than
> "loss" or "conversion." The paper goes on to say, "invasive species [i]s
the
> second largest--and probably the fastest growing--threat to biodiversity
in
> many ecosystems. This was second only to habitat loss as a factor." For
the
> sake of clarity, it is better to differentiate "loss through conversion"
from
> "loss through destruction." As this paper states, "loss of species is
just
> one result of biological invasions--changes in ecosystem structure and
> function and increasing homogenization of unique regional biota are
others."
> All of these factors together point to a conversion of native plant
> communities into an alien landscape, one result of which is a loss of
native
> plants and animals with a concomitant reduction in biodiversity. The
> soundbite version is still, "The second greatest cause of extinction is
> invasion by alien species."
>
> In "America's Silent Killer: How Invasive Species Threaten America's
Unique
> Wildlife Heritage" <http://www.refugenet.org/New%20issues/invasives.htm>,
we
> read: "Regardless of how they get here, through escape or release many of
> these species become free-living populations and cause the degradation and
> destruction of millions of acres of wildlife habitat. Experts believe that
> invasive plants already exist in all 50 states on more than 100 million
acres
> of land and water in the U.S. - an area roughly the size of California -
and
> that they continue to spread at a rate of about 14 million acres per year.
> According to the U.S. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, there
> are at least 4,500 species of foreign plants and animals that have
> established free-living populations throughout the country. Of that total,
at
> least 675 species, or 15 percent, cause severe harm. In economic terms, 79
> species, or 12 percent, deemed the worst invaders caused documented losses
of
> $97 billion from 1906 to 1991. Forty-six percent of all federally-listed
> threatened and endangered species are considered at risk primarily due to
> competition with or predation by invasive species. The effects of
invasives
> range from wholesale ecosystems changes and extinction of indigenous
species
> to more subtle ecological changes and increased biological sameness.
Invasive
> plants harm the environment by damaging soil and water resources, ruining
> fish spawning habitat and crowding out native species."
>
> The Global Invasive Species Programme (those IUCN guys, again) has said,
> "Alien invasive species have been identified as the leading culprits in
> species extinction, especially on islands. The Global Biodiversity
Assessment
> (UNEP, 1995) provided considerable detail about the impact of alien
invasives
> on biodiversity in virtually all parts of the globe. The Norway-UN
Conference
> on Alien Species (Trondheim, July 1996) and the workshop on alien species
at
> IUCN's World Conservation Congress (Montreal, October 1996) have clearly
> identified alien invasive species as an issue of great concern to the
> conservation community. .. The vast majority of invasives today are either
> transmitted or facilitated by human activity with an economic objective.
In
> seeking to maximize productivity for human ends, those promoting
industrial
> forms of agriculture promote monocultural, energy-intensive farming
practices
> that are the epitome of reductions of variation and loss of resilience.
The
> spread of agriculture may lead to significant declines in diversity from
> hundreds of species to just one dominant plus accompanying weeds. Many of
> these monocultures are exotic species that can escape the farmer's field
and
> become invasive." <http://jasper.stanford.edu/gisp/human.htm>
>
> Not to belabor the obvious, but for the sake of our exotics control
> detractor(s), it is important to say that invasive alien species cause
great,
> measurable harm to man and nature. To attempt to minimize the threat by
> tossing up semantic arguments ("What is natural?") is an egregious offense
> against conservation science. Species are going extinct right now, but we
> -can- do something about it. As to the opening question, "Does it matter?"
I
> think the unqualified answer is "Yes!" [The qualified answer of some
> economic interests is "Yes, but not as much as making money."]
Admittedly, a
> few tainted biologists will chime in with "Nuh-uh!" But those people need
to
> see an alienist.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Ruark L. "Rook" Cleary
> Upland Weeds Program
> Bureau of Invasive Plant Management
> 3900 Commonwealth Blvd, MS 705
> Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000
> ruark.cleary_at_dep.state.fl.us
> Voice 850-487-2600 x1507
> SunCom 277-2600, Fax 850-488-2216
> <http://www.dep.state.fl.us/lands/invaspec/index.htm>
>
------------
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