Invasive Species Grant Mulligan Outline Invasive Birds Invasive

Invasive Species Grant Mulligan

Outline • Invasive Birds • Invasive Plants • Climate Change

House Sparrows • Ubiquitous in urban areas • Brought over from Europe • Kills native bird species actively or passively • Compete for resources • Graphic Pictures Follow

"Without question the most deplorable event in the history of American ornithology was the introduction of the English Sparrow. " -W. L. Dawson, The Birds of Ohio, 1903

Invasive Species • “Are Invasive Species a Major Cause of Extinctions? ” • have negative effects on the functional relationships between birds, their prey, and prey habitat • Lehmann lovegrass • Buffelgrass • Out-compete native species

Invasive Plants • Invasive exotic plants are a major threat to many species of wild birds. • Long-term and often irreversible habitat degradation for birds and other animals. • Overall bird abundance was 32% greater on native-grass sites than on exotic-grass sites (Flanders).

Climate Change • Becoming a heated policy issue • Public concern growing • Causing rapid change in habitats • Extraordinary rate of species extinction • Potential effects devastating to ecosystems worldwide.

Climate Change • There are examples of invasive species altering the evolutionary pathway of native species by competitive exclusion, niche displacement, hybridization, introgression, predation, and ultimately extinction (Mooney). • Process accelerated by global change brought on by warming

Conclusions • Must address invasive species problem. • Must actively manage lands to protect them from invasive species. • Greater effort to exterminate invasive species • More education & research needed. • Limit Global Warming

Works Cited • Mooney, H. A. , and E. E. Cleland. "The Evolutionary Impact of Invasive Species. " Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 98 (2001): 5446 -5451. • Gurevitch, Jessica, and Dianna K. Padilla. "Are Invasive Species a Major Cause of Extinctions? " Trends in Ecology 19 (2004): 470 -474. • Flanders, Aron A. , et al. " Effects of Invasive exotic grasses on south Texas rangeland breeding birds. " The Auk 123 (2006): 171 -182. • www. sialis. org/battles. htm (Pictures)