An invasive species is an organism that is not natural to an environment. These species can reproduce as well as grow very quickly. Fungus, bacteria, plants, animals and insects can be invasive species. They can cause harm in many ways. They can cause harm to the environment, food sources, carry disease and change the food web of an area. Invasive species around the world cause billions of dollars in damages each year. People can be blamed for the introduction of invasive species most of the time. Many people want exotic pets. We are fascinated by their colors, personalities and looks. Some people get the animal home and find they can not take care of it, or they get tired of the work it takes. Instead of giving the animals away or selling them, people release the animals into the wild. Some of these animals die but others thrive in their new environments and end up causing a lot of damage. Do not ever release your pet into the wild. That frog, snake or fish could kill off the local animal populations. What can we do to help out?

A good example of an invasive species is a saltwater fish called the lionfish. The lionfish is causing a big problem in the Atlantic Ocean along the Florida coast and in the Caribbean Ocean. This fish is native to the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. It has no native predators in the Atlantic and Caribbean. A female lionfish can release 50,000 eggs every three to four days while other fish only release eggs once a year. This means they reproduce very fast. They are also big eaters. This puts native fish populations at risk. The lionfish has 18 venomous spines that they use for defense. Their venom can be very painful and other fish have learned to stay away. How did lionfish get in the Atlantic? It is believed that people who had lionfish in their aquariums released them into the ocean.

The state of Florida has the perfect climate for abandoned tropical pets and they are causing massive amounts of damage. There are at least three different species of monkeys and residents are warned that they can become aggressive and do carry diseases. The monkeys were released on purpose as a tourist attraction. Iguanas are also a problem. Three different species of iguanas have been identified. Their major impact is they poop everywhere, and they dig big burrows and can cause property damage. The Burmese python may be the most impactful of all the invasive species. It has no native predators and it will eat just about anything including small mammals, birds and even alligators. No joke. These snakes can get up to 23 feet long. Both the lizards and snakes were probably pets that were released into the wild. Florida has at least 19 invasive animals.

Invasive species problems happen not just in the United States but all over the world. Australia has a toad problem. This isn’t just any toad, but a poisonous toad. 102 toads were brought to Australia by the government in 1935 to control the beetles that were killing sugarcane crops. They did not get that memo but they did eat everything else in sight and reproduced so effectively that there are now more than two million cane toads. They can get as big as 6 inches long and weigh 3 pounds. What these warty looking guys don’t eat, they poison. 

Other invasive species come here by accident. It doesn't matter where you live in the world, a large part of what you buy came from somewhere else. Most of the time it arrives on a ship. Those ships often have stowaways hitching rides from the other side of the world. Insects, crabs, mussels, jellyfish, seaweed and more have found homes where they shouldn’t be. In bodies of water it is easy to mess up the ecosystem and getting rid of these unwanted hitchhikers can be very expensive.