Invasive Species Essay

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Fire Ants Invasive Species according to Delach 2011, are “plants, animals or other organisms that are introduced to a given area outside of their original range and cause harm in their new home.” Since they were brought into this new environment, they have no natural enemies to slow down and limit their reproduction, causing the species to spread uncontrollably. According to Delach 2011, Invasive Species are recognized as one of the leading threats to biodiversity and impose enormous cost to agriculture, forestry, fisheries and other human enterprises as well as human health. The Fire Ant is an invasive species that south America accidently introduced to Alabama in 1929 via a cargo ship that was carrying used soil as ballast (FireAnt.net 2005). According to University of Arkansas division of agriculture 2006, “red fire ants can have a positive and a negative impact on the environment and the life in it.” Of course, in the public’s opinion, fire ants are a big pain in the butt and “can only be considered negative” (University of Arkansas division of agriculture, 2006). Environmentally, a positive impact is “as generalist feeders, they can have more than one food source and other insects are their prey (University of Arkansas division of agriculture, 2006). In the South Eastern United States, fire ants eat the natural predator of the sugar cane and cotton (Roberts, 2011). When fleas and ticks are involved, fire ants eat the larval and pupal stage fleas and ticks and reduce the chances of Lyme disease and other nasty diseases (Roberts, 2011). The negative impacts of fire ants on the environment are the disfiguring of landscapes, and the stinging of people, pets and livestock (Steven Tvedten. The Best Control (2nd Edition). It can be difficult to estimate and measure the costs of this species, but the damages they inflict on property and natural resources in the

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