Aquatic Invasive Species

Recent studies have discovered a higher alien richness in the Curonian lagoon than in the benthic zones of the Baltic Sea.  Through their research, scientists have postulated what allows an ecosystem to be invaded, and for that matter, why is the invader invading?

There are two general hypotheses concerning species diversity and the “invisibility” of a habitat. Stachowicz et al.(1999) argues that the diversity of an ecosystem  increases is resistance, amd protects it from foreign invasion Stohlgren et al.(2003), on the other hand, believes that invasive species are “invisible” and undetectable under such a huge lens of a marine ecosystem.

Research concluded that systems have already been modified by man, through dams or embankments, or have already been invaded by a species, such as the zebra mussel, are high susceptible to further invasion. For instance, when a concrete construction is made in the Klaipeda strait, it provides the zebra mussel a hard substrate to bind to. The mussels then provide foreign invaders with nutrients and thus create a positive feedback system that may never be stopped.  The correlation between debth range and inasice species richness is explained by the decline in oxygen and thus yielding more vigorous conditions (Leppakoski and Olenin 2000). Species tend to approach less diverse ecosystems that have less competition and more of their particular nutrients of interest. It’s important for biological control to focus on these hot spots of lagoons and swamps, even if they aren’t directly related to the fishing trade; an abundance of invasive species can clog or poison entire water channels that deposit  into our water reserves.

http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pubs/fulltext/2006/20060037.pdf

Biol Invasions- DOI 10.1007

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011 at 7:31 pm and is filed under SW5, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.