You hear a lot these days about invasive alien species. It is a term applied to those plants and animals that are opportunistic and crowd out native species in a given area. Clearly, human beings are the biggest threat of all in this regard.
Mute swans have fallen under this classification here in the US because they originated in Europe. Most of the birds that visit my feeders are of European descent. I have European house sparrows, European Starlings, Eurasian collared doves, and robins. Introduced grass species have replaced the native ones that buffalo used to graze. In many places they have crowded out the native sagebrush and pinyon-juniper stands, making these areas more prone to wildfires. Several invasive insects have wreaked havoc on our forests and native trees, such as the Emerald ash borer and hemlock woolly adelgids. The elm bark beetle spreads elm bark disease. Our native American chestnut has been lost to an Asian bark fungus. Noxious weeds are non-native, invasive plants that crowd out more desirable ones and often thrive on disturbed soil. I could list hundreds of species – animal, plant, fungi – that have been displaced from their native habitat. Our world has been altered in more ways than we can imagine.
Poland has declared the housecat to be an invasive alien species. I love cats, as do millions of others; but I must agree that they are in fact alien, having been bred by humans; and they reproduce at an alarming rate. The same is true for dogs. In fact, all domesticated animals are the result of human interference. We have pushed out thousands of native, wild animals and birds to make room for our domesticated animals. Animal agriculture is one of the biggest producers of methane and nitrous oxide that is contributing to global warming. It is also the largest consumer of our dwindling water supplies.
It is imperative that owners of cats and dogs have their pets neutered. People who want pets should obtain homeless ones or get them from a shelter. We should not be allowing cats and dogs to reproduce and there should be laws against creating new breeds.
We are heading down the final stretch of summer and I have seen very few insects in my garden. The only butterfly I have seen is the cabbage white, which is also an invasive alien butterfly species. I still have not seen a hummingbird, although I have replenished the feeder several times and planted agastache, which is one of their favorite plants. The liberal use of herbicides and pesticides in this area is to blame for the erie lack of insects.
It is unknown whether or not human beings originated on this planet, or if we were brought here from somewhere else. No one can argue the fact; however, that we have successfully invaded and destroyed much of the life that preceded us.
