Invasive species facts for kids
An invasive species is a species which is not native to the place where it is found. It has moved from its native area, where it grew naturally, into a new area. Often it becomes a nuisance species, because in its new habitat it lacks its old enemies. Normally, as a species evolves, so do the things which eat it or parasitise it. Free of natural restraints, the invading species outcompetes its new neighbours.
Kudzu, for example, is called "The weed which ate the South" because it went out of control in the southern United States. The introduction of starlings to North America is another example.
Related pages
Images for kids
-
Beavers from North America constitute an invasive species in Tierra del Fuego, where they have a substantial impact on landscape and local ecology through their dams.
-
Vinca spreading in a garden
-
The brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis)
-
Lantana growing in abandoned citrus plantation; Moshav Sdei Hemed, Israel
-
Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis)
-
Cargo ship de-ballasting
-
An American alligator attacking a Burmese python in Florida; the Burmese python is an invasive species which is posing a threat to many indigenous species, including the alligator
-
Alien invasive species Parthenium hysterophorus smothering native flora in Achanakmar Tiger Reserve, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India
See also
In Spanish: Especie invasora para niños
