Invasive Species
Recent NCCOS Invasive Species News
June 25, 2008: In September 2007, NCCOS invited a panel of experts to review the Invasive Species Program. The report from that panel, and NCCOS’s response, are both available for the public to read.
When exotic plants and animals are brought to the U.S. from other countries or native species are relocated to inappropriate areas within the U.S., they can damage native and endemic species. They change the native community structure and can create economic challenges.
In the U.S. alone, approximately 50,000 exotic species are known to exist, and this number is increasing constantly. The major environmental damages, losses, and control measures for invasive species in the U.S. cost an average of $138 billion per year. Invasive species also threaten nearly half of the species currently protected under the Endangered Species Act. The introduction and spreading of invasive species are the result of several factors. These include expanded global trade, the harvesting of exotic marine species to satisfy the increasingly popular aquarium industry, and use of non-native species as agents in agriculture and pest control. Invasive species also are introduced into the marine coastal environment when large ships exchange their ballast water.
NCCOS scientists conduct research on both plant and animal invasive species. Introduction of invasive species can, through interspecies competition, result in changes in native species composition. Working with its research partners, NCCOS is developing an early warning system that will indicate the early presence of invasive species in Hawaii 's marine and estuarine areas. The system will include a searchable database of native coastal species and will be available on the Internet. Future projects will expand the database to include other coastal states and U.S. territories and build a national early warning system. As a member of the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, NCCOS is developing technologies to help reduce the impact of invasive species resulting from contaminated ballast water.
To help control invasive species, NCCOS scientists are also:
- studying the impact of nonnative lionfish newly discovered off Carolina coasts;
- conducting a workshop on "Preventing the Introduction and Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species in North America ";
- analyzing of the use of Phragmites (sea oats) in marshes by nonnative fish;
- forming a European green crab control committee;
- researching a newly discovered fish parasite in the Great Lakes ; and
- studying risk management of pathogenic Vibrio vunificus in molluscan shellfish.
References
- About Lionfish
- Lionfish fact sheet
- Aquatic Invasive Species: Early Detection, Warning, and Information fact sheet
- The Lionfish Invasion!
Research cruises
Feature Articles
- Lionfish Discovered along the South Atlantic Coast: A Curiosity…or a Wake up Call?
- Lionfish Observed off North Carolina Coast - Divers and fishers alert: Non-native lionfish are beautiful but have venomous spines
Related Links
- NCCOS Human Dimensions Research
- Invasivespecies.gov
- Invasive Species in Massachusetts
- Illinois Aquatic Nuisance Species Program Web site — Online Reporting of Invasive Species
- Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force
- Northeast Aquatic Nuisance Species Panel
- Non-Native Aquatic Species in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Regions
- Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species
- Habitattitude
- Sea Grant Nonindigenous Species
- Sea Grant Aquatic Invasive Species
- Aquatic Invasive Species and the Great Lakes
- NOAA Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary — Invasive Species
- Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve — Early Detection for Aquatic Invaders
- International Non Indigenous Species Database
- USGS Nonidigenous Aquatic Species
- National Exotic Marine and Estuarine Species Information System
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center — Marine Invasions Research Lab
- U.S. Coast Guard — Aquatic Nuisance Species
- Sea Grant National Aquatic Nuisance Species Clearinghouse
- Great Lakes Aquatic Nuisance Species
- San Francisco Estuary Institute — Biological Invasions Program
- University of Michigan Sea Grant — Aquatic Invasive Species
- MIT Sea Grant Center for Coastal Resources — Marine Bioinvasions
- Guide to the Exotic Species of San Francisco Bay
