Do labels matter?

What is impacting the nature around you?

It might be habitat loss, noise, light, drought, or the many impacts that climate change may bring, but an important factor that may go unrecognized is the introduction of new species.

I'm in Southern California, so I'm going to use some local examples;

Many of you familar with Southern California probably knew they were all introduced species,

It's not so easy. Even taxonomists may know one group really well, but miss something obvious in the field that might be introduced. I’m interested in this, I want to know more. I want to be able to spot something that may have a negative impact on the ecosystem around me so that we can try to stop its movement.

The reason I built this site was because I couldn’t easily find this information.

So, why is this information important?

Introduced species can have a significant impact on an ecosystem. The aim of this data site is to inform, in an easily accessible way, about the origination and movement of introduced species, and to build awareness about the impacts they may have. The collective power of community science can alert researchers, land managers, health experts, and more, by catching newly introduced species which may have the potential to establish or become invasive, using observational data made by participants like you.

As a few examples, introduced species have the potential to;

As much as one third of all species have already become threatened or extinct directly due to introduced species.

 ‘Alien species were considered to be a contributing cause of 25% of plant extinctions and 33% of animal extinctions’

Blackburn, T.M., Bellard, C., and Ricciardi, A. 2019. Alien versus native species as drivers of recent extinctions. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 17(4): 203–207, doi:10.1002/fee.2020)

That’s incredible and we can’t afford to ignore this. You might enjoy the sound of those new birds in your neighborhood, or the smell of that new night blooming plant, but at what cost to the environment?

How did they get here?

Wherever you may be in the world, there are introduced species. They are new species with the potential to become invasive. As global trade increased so did the movement  of plants and animals. They hitched rides on cargo ships, maybe they got packed in your luggage on your vacation, they were intentionally released into the environment for hunting or through the pet trade. One of the most impactful introduced fungi is white nose syndrome which has wiped out entire bat colonies and may have initially been spread on the boots of researchers, the very people trying to save them.

Do labels matter?

Native species are naturally occurring species in a geographic region

Introduced species are non-native species that are introduced to a geographic region where they do not naturally exist. They may have been released intentionally or unintentionally, typically by anthropogenic means

Invasive species are non-native species that are a threat to native species or to the environment. They may also directly impact humans, or cause economic loss. Introduced species are not always invasive species, but early detection and careful monitoring can help make those evaluations

It is important to note that not all introduced species become invasive species.

Naturalized species are non-native species which have been established over multiple generations without impact to native biodiversity.

Threatened species are those which are vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Just because a species isn’t officially listed, does not mean they aren't threatened.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature uses the classifications; Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the Wild, and Extinct. For the data I am providing on this site, I am using the general term threatened which may incorporate any of those categories as species status do change.

How can you contribute to this science?

Walk around a city and it's clear to see many habitats are disconnected. Rows and rows of divided private plots. Move away from the city and private land is blocked off by fences. Natural habitats are fractured by roads. These are no longer the domains of scientists, it takes all of us to raise our awareness and be on the lookout to see what is happening all around us.

Your contributions to open source platforms such as iNaturalist, which I used here to collect all of my data, is invaluable. You may post an endangered species that hasn’t been seen in decades and not even know it, or you may post a newly introduced species that no one is aware of yet. You do not need to be an expert, you do not need to be able to to identify it, there is a whole community that will help you make identifications, and your contributions do matter. We, the community, are essential to this science and the earlier an introduced species is detected, the better chance there is of containment and eradication. 

Definitions

Adaptation - Adjustment or preparation of natural or human systems to a new or changing environment which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.

Alien / foreign/ nonindigenous - All three terms are synonymous with nonnative.

Anthropogenic - Made by people or resulting from human activities. Usually used in the context of emissions that are produced as a result of human activities.

Biomass - Materials that are biological in origin, including organic material (both living and dead) from above and below ground, for example, trees, crops, grasses, tree litter, roots, and animals and animal waste.

Biosphere - The part of the Earth system comprising all ecosystems and living organisms, in the atmosphere, on land (terrestrial biosphere) or in the oceans (marine biosphere), including derived dead organic matter, such as litter, soil organic matter and oceanic detritus.

Climate - Climate in a narrow sense is usually defined as the "average weather," or more rigorously, as the statistical description in terms of the mean and variability of relevant quantities over a period of time ranging from months to thousands of years. The classical period is 3 decades, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). These quantities are most often surface variables such as temperature, precipitation, and wind. Climate in a wider sense is the state, including a statistical description, of the climate system.

Climate Change - Climate change refers to any significant change in the measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time. In other words, climate change includes major changes in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns, among others, that occur over several decades or longer.

Conditional/restricted - A species that can be possessed or imported for research, public exhibition, or commercial use in controlled settings that limit the possibility of escape. Possession requires appropriate permits. Species cannot be owned as pets.

Deforestation - Those practices or processes that result in the conversion of forested lands for non-forest uses. Deforestation contributes to increasing carbon dioxide concentrations for two reasons: 1) the burning or decomposition of the wood releases carbon dioxide; and 2) trees that once removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the process of photosynthesis are no longer present.

Desertification - Land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. Further, the UNCCD (The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) defines land degradation as a reduction or loss, in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas, of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of rain-fed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest, and woodlands resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of processes, including processes arising from human activities and habitation patterns, such as: (i) soil erosion caused by wind and/or water; (ii) deterioration of the physical, chemical and biological or economic properties of soil; and (iii) long-term loss of natural vegetation. Conversion of forest to non-forest.

Ecosystem - Any natural unit or entity including living and nonliving parts that interact to produce a stable system through cyclic exchange of materials.

Established - A species having a self-sustaining and reproducing population in a specified geographic area without the need for human intervention. Applies to both native and nonnative species.

Global Warming - The recent and ongoing global average increase in temperature near the Earth's surface.

Habitat Fragmentation - A process during which larger areas of habitat are broken into a number of smaller patches of smaller total area, isolated from each other by a matrix of habitats unlike the original habitat.

Heat Island - An urban area characterized by temperatures higher than those of the surrounding non-urban area. As urban areas develop, buildings, roads, and other infrastructure replace open land and vegetation. These surfaces absorb more solar energy, which can create higher temperatures in urban areas.

Injurious - "Inflicting or tending to inflict injury."

Introduced species are non-native species that are introduced to a geographic region where they do not naturally exist. They may have been released intentionally or unintentionally, typically by anthropogenic means

Invasive species are non-native species that are a threat to native species or to the environment. They may also directly impact humans, or cause economic loss. Introduced species are not always invasive species, but early detection and careful monitoring can help make those evaluations. It is important to note that not all introduced species become invasive species.

Invasive exotic - Often used to describe a nonnative species that causes environmental and/or economic harm or harm to humans (i.e., a species that is invasive).

Invasive weed - Used to describe an invasive plant.

Latitude - The location north or south in reference to the equator, which is designated at zero (0) degrees. Lines of latitude are parallel to the equator and circle the globe. The North and South poles are at 90 degrees North and South latitude.

Native species are naturally occurring species in a geographic region

Native invasive - Often used to describe individuals or a group of individuals of a native species in a context in which they are a nuisance.

Naturalized species are non-native species which have been established over multiple generations without impact to native biodiversity.

Nonnative - A species that does not occur naturally in a specified geographic area.

Noxious weed - "Any plant or plant product that can directly or indirectly injure or cause damage to crops (including nursery stock or plant products), livestock, poultry, or other interests of agriculture, irrigation, navigation, the natural resources of the United States, the public health, or the environment."

Nuisance - n individual or group of individuals of a species that causes management issues or property damage, presents a threat to public safety, or is an annoyance. Can apply to both native and nonnative species.

Ocean Acidification - Increased concentrations of carbon dioxide in sea water causing a measurable increase in acidity (i.e., a reduction in ocean pH). This may lead to reduced calcification rates of calcifying organisms such as corals, mollusks, algae and crustaceans.

Ozone - Ozone, the triatomic form of oxygen (O3), is a gaseous atmospheric constituent. In the troposphere, it is created by photochemical reactions involving gases resulting both from natural sources and from human activities (photochemical smog). In high concentrations, tropospheric ozone can be harmful to a wide range of living organisms. Tropospheric ozone acts as a greenhouse gas. In the stratosphere, ozone is created by the interaction between solar ultraviolet radiation and molecular oxygen (O2). Stratospheric ozone plays a decisive role in the stratospheric radiative balance. Depletion of stratospheric ozone, due to chemical reactions that may be enhanced by climate change, results in an increased ground-level flux of ultraviolet (UV-) B radiation.

Permafrost - Perennially (continually) frozen ground that occurs where the temperature remains below 0ºC for several years.

Phenology - The timing of natural events, such as flower blooms and animal migration, which is influenced by changes in climate. Phenology is the study of such important seasonal events. Phenological events are influenced by a combination of climate factors, including light, temperature, rainfall, and humidity.

Prohibited - A species determined injurious to humans or human interests (e.g., agriculture, forestry, horticulture, or wildlife management).

Range change - The circumstance of a species' current/existing range growing, shrinking, or shifting over time. This change can happen to native and nonnative species with or without human assistance.

Reforestation - Planting of forests on lands that have previously contained forests but that have been converted to some other use.

Relative Sea Level Rise - The increase in ocean water levels at a specific location, taking into account both global sea level rise and local factors, such as local subsidence and uplift. Relative sea level rise is measured with respect to a specified vertical datum relative to the land, which may also be changing elevation over time.

Renewable Energy - Energy resources that are naturally replenishing such as biomass, hydro, geothermal, solar, wind, ocean thermal, wave action, and tidal action.

Resilience - A capability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from significant multi-hazard threats with minimum damage to social well-being, the economy, and the environment.

Sensitivity - The degree to which a system is affected, either adversely or beneficially, by climate variability or change. The effect may be direct (e.g., a change in crop yield in response to a change in the mean, range or variability of temperature) or indirect (e.g., damages caused by an increase in the frequency of coastal flooding due to sea level rise).

Threatened species are those which are vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Just because a species isn’t officially listed, does not mean they aren't threatened.

Vulnerability - The degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of climate change, including climate variability and extremes. Vulnerability is a function of the character, magnitude, and rate of climate variation to which a system is exposed; its sensitivity; and its adaptive capacity.

Weather - Atmospheric condition at any given time or place. It is measured in terms of such things as wind, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, cloudiness, and precipitation. In most places, weather can change from hour-to-hour, day-to-day, and season-to-season. Climate in a narrow sense is usually defined as the "average weather", or more rigorously, as the statistical description in terms of the mean and variability of relevant quantities over a period of time ranging from months to thousands or millions of years. The classical period is 30 years, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). These quantities are most often surface variables such as temperature, precipitation, and wind. Climate in a wider sense is the state, including a statistical description, of the climate system. A simple way of remembering the difference is that climate is what you expect (e.g. cold winters) and 'weather' is what you get (e.g. a blizzard).

Definition references;
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Journal of Extension - Invasive Species Terminology: Standardizing for Stakeholder Education