The Importance Of Non-Native Invasive Species In Nebraska

A non-native, invasive species of plant in Nebraska is the Canada thistle. A non-native, invasive species of mammal in Nebraska is the Norway Rat, more commonly known as the brown rat. A non-native, invasive species of fish in Nebraska is the common carp. A non-native, invasive species of bird in Nebraska is European Starling. A non-native, invasive species of reptile is the Cumberland Slider. Obviously, all of the species are not native to Nebraska. Both the Canada thistle and the Norway Rat can harm the environment in which it lives. The common carp and the European Starling are both dominating the environment in which they live in. As stated earlier, the Canada thistle releases toxins to the environment it is in. The Canada thistle does
this to compete with the native plants in that area. It also threatens the non-forested plant communities. The Norway Rat can transmit diseases that may harm humans or livestock. It also can contaminate food for humans and livestock. The common carp competes with other fish for food, and destroys aquatic habitats and vegetation. The common carp also increases the turbidity, which makes the water more murky which causes the vegetation to have problems getting enough sunlight to use in photosynthesis. The European Starling dominates the ecosystem in which it lives, so it threatens and displaces the native species. There is not much known of the impact of the Cumberland Slider, but it eats other aquatic animals as food, so it disrupts the ecosystem in that way. When introducing a non-native species to an environment, there are some general ecological concerns. These concerns deal directly with how the new species will effect the species that are already in that environment. One major concern is if the new species will cause any of the original species to die off, intentionally or unintentionally. From there, the concerns go to if the original species dying off will effect any other species.