A plant with opposite leaves, white to dark gold flowers in the spring, and tiny red berries in the fall, emerge to be the Amur Bush Honeysuckle. The root of the Honeysuckle is from birds planting the seeds. Amur Bush Honeysuckle is an extremely invasive plant species that was brought over from Asia, to southern Ohio in the late 1950s, however, it is a non-native species (harvard.edu, 1997). This plant grows at rapid speeds with a large ability to reseed. When Honeysuckle is planted it tends to take over uncontrollably and decrease the growth of other species around it. Honeysuckle usually flourishes near water or roadways. In other words, Honeysuckle is very plentiful and invasive in some areas, but negatively impacts the environment, water quality, and other organisms.
It is extremely important to keep the environment free of this invasive species. Amur Bush Honeysuckle becomes so abundant and grows very rapidly that it affects the growth of native plant species. Honeysuckle’s exudate prevents the growing of seeds that influences the growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. (Davisjg blog, 2015) Removing the species gives the chance of other native species to grow and better the environment. Furthermore, by restoring the environment of Honeysuckle it
It affects the states surrounding the Gulf of Mexico, such as Texas (epa.gov, 2016). It costs a great amount to restore algal blooms and remove Nitrogen nutrients from the water. Sometimes it can cost billions of dollars to clean polluted water. Also, the tourism industry loses about one billion dollars a year from polluted waters, in fishing and boating. (epa.gov, 2016) Nutrient pollution can be harmful to fish and often kills them, losing millions of dollars in commercial fishing. Moreover, people can play a role in nutrient pollution by the way they use their
Nitrogen and nitrates relate to Hypoxia via the process of eutrophication. Since Nitrogen is a limiting nutrient in most waters, the added input of nitrate causes massive growth in algae. The algae rapidly consume all available N, and once the nutrient is limited again, the alga dies en masse. As the alga decomposes, oxygen is depleted in the water. This lowers dangerously lowers the level of dissolved oxygen in the water, which harms living organisms in the area. Small organisms and organisms that are immobile or unable to escape low-oxygen areas are particularly vulnerable. Hypoxia and resulting “dead zones” are harmful to local fishing and shrimping industries and algal blooms hurt the tourism industry. Hypoxia has lead to a decrease of about 25% in the brown shrimp habitat, forcing shrimping operations further offshore. As the hypoxia issue continues to grow, negative human effects will only increase. Since nitrate runoff from ag. has been proven to be the dominant source of hypoxia, policies could be enacted to effectively deal with “point-source” pollution. This makes enacting environmental policy more easily adapted, possibly included in past policy such as the Clean Water Act.
Bees are known throughout the world as dangerous threats and pests to humanity. Bees when left alone are very important to the growth of all the worlds’ crops and plants; they affect the growth of all the crops plant just as much as butterflies and other pollinators. Humans rely on bees for honey and pollination of plants, but what most agricultural workers don’t know is that they are working on the extinction of the common honey bee by doing simple things in their every day jobs on the farm. With the use of pesticides and other harmful things such as an unnatural diet and cramped living spaces, bees can go extinct and without a large group of pollinators our plants ...
Eurasian milfoil or Myriophyllum spicatum is an aquatic invasive plant that can be found throughout the Chicagoland area and in surrounding bodies of water. This plant can be a hindrance to swimming, boating, and fishing because of their thick, tangled stems and mats of vegetation. According to the Minnesota Sea Grant, Eurasian milfoil also overcrowd a body of water, which leaves little room for the plants native to the Great Lakes. One prediction is that if the Eurasian milfoil is not stopped, a reduction of biodiversity may result in Chicago and the areas surrounding it. If this was to occur, the ecosystems of the Midwest region would be significantly impacted in a negative way.
Humans are responsible for almost all of the invasive plant and animal problems. Many of our problem invasives were (and often still are) planted as landscape plants in New Jersey. These include: Norway Maple, Japanese Barberry, Asian Bittersweet, English Ivy, Mimosa, Wisteria, Japanese Honeysuckle, Bugleweed, Bamboo, Day Lily, Purple Loosestrife, Tansy, and Dame's
The honey bee is not native to North America. In Notes on Virginia1 Thomas Jefferson stated: “The honey-bee is not a native of our continent. Marcgrove, indeed, mentions a species of the honey-bee in Brazil. But this has no sting, and is therefore different from the one we have, which resembles perfectly that of Europe. The Indians concur with us in the tradition that it was brought from Europe; but when, and by whom, we know not. The bees have generally extended themselves into the country, a little in advance of the white settlers. The Indians, therefore, call them the white man’s fly, and consider their approach as indicating the approach of the settlements of the whites.” Records show that colonies of honey bees were shipped from England and landed in the Colony of Virginia in early 1622.2 From that time on honey bees were apart of colonial life. Definitive information on how the bees were shipped was hard to come upon but it is reasonable to assume that they were kept and transported in straw skeps. In later years wood boxes and log gums3 would be used. Possibly during the many weeks at sea a light, airy cloth was pinned over a small opening in the shape of a bag allowing the bees to fly, get som...
In the article, “Invasive Plants Sometimes Offer Help Instead of Harm”, they explain that the honeysuckle provide organisms in the are with food (Live Science Staff 2011). The honeysuckle gives animals like birds something to eat. It also feeds other small mammals. They also explain that the honeysuckle gives benefits to a plant species native to the Happy Valley American Nightshade (Live Science Staff 2011). This proves that the honeysuckle does not only provide animals with food but they also provide plant secues with benefits, For these reasons, the Honeysuckle is very good for the environment and shouldn’t be
In 1996, the Asian Longhorn Beetle made its way into the New York and New Jersey creating the decimation of the forests. The Asian Longhorn Beetle has so far caused the cutting of over 10,000 trees in New Jersey, and quarantine of 109 miles in New York today . The spread of this foreign beetle has created great impacts on the environment. The Asian Longhorn Beetle is an invasive specie, a harmful specie from another locations, mainly other countries, that has ended up in a foreign habitat. As time has progressed, invasive species have continued to come into our environment more frequently creating many unforeseen consequences. The relationship of invasive species within the United States’ environment and ecosystem has been changing ever since the arrival of the Europeans in the 1700s to present day. Due to these encounters with other species whether harmful or neutral, the majority, if not all, of the United States has been affected with the threatening encroachment of native species due to the industrialization of waterways and transportation.
he Water Hyacinth is an invasive species that seems to be causing problems to local rivers and ponds. What are an invasive species you may be wondering? An invasive species is a species that is not native to a specific location and can cause damage to an ecosystem. The water hyacinth is a free-floating perennial plant that can grow to a height of 3 feet. The plants have a tendency to spread at a rapid pace and often times grow thick mats above the water. Under these mats, the plants have a thick root system. The water hyacinth is a very beautiful plant but it causes many problems. This plant, again, forms very thick mats on top of the water’s surface which if it covers the entire surface, it can cause oxygen depletions for fish and other animals under the mats and eventually kill the. They reproduce very quickly and tend
The term invasive species is described as a species that is introduced into an area in which it is not native. This species has the potential to cause a negative effect to the native species and other biotic factors in those surroundings (Invasive Species, n.d). Any kind of living organism can be a potential invasive species, including the seeds and eggs of an organism (Invasive Species, n.d). These species can be brought into an area any number of ways but are usually a result of human activity (Invasive Species, n.d). Although, it has been discovered that protected areas can be impacted by invasive species, possibly more so than non-protected areas (Hoopes et al., 2013).
flowers or plants that have been sprayed are being connected to issues such as colony
Water pollution has had devastating effects on the environment, which include irreversible effects on the oceans ecosystem. People often underestimate the importance of the ocean. They don’t realize how much damage pollution has caused to the ocean and the thousands of creatures that inhabit it. Earth is a huge place, but resources are actually very limited and will not last forever unless there is a balance. We must protect the resources we have in order for them to last into the next generation.
But why is that a bad thing? Honey bees are very inefficient pollinators. Kicking out many other bees and pollinators who are much more efficient at pollinating such plants, leading to many plants going into decline. Not only are honey bees territorial, but effective at killing other native pollinator populations. Similar to other European colonizers, they spread an extreme number of diseases and disorders to other
Invasive alien species are disrupting and changing the normal ecological functions of biomes, ecosystems, and the biosphere as a whole (CBD, 2009). They are a threat to biodiversity and can cause damage to, or even eradicate native species which natural cycles and other organisms depend on. While disrupting energy flow, food chains, and shaking the structure of ecosystems to the core, invasive species create not only ecological, but also a whole host of social, economical, and health issues that affect the livelihood of almost every organism on earth, including humans (CBD, 2009).
... (The Issues: Factory Farming, n.d.). Nutrients and bacteria from that waste can also contaminate waterways, disturbing the aquatic ecosystems.