The man responsible for the establishment of invasive species 13,000 – Hypertext

With the advent of pacu fish to Spain, possibly due to the fraudulent sale of this species as “pet” turns to highlight the damage they can do invasive species natural populations of a given habitat. Often blamed him from the establishment of new species of organisms, but what is really our influence?

A new study by Superior Council of Scientific has estimated the impact anthropogenic plant on the establishment of invasive species. Their findings, published in the journal Nature , show that man is responsible for the establishment of more than 13,000 plant species, representing 3% of all species on our planet.

The research, which involved 33 institutions, among others, the Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid, has been conducted under the project Flora of Equatorial Guinea . According to their findings, North America would be the region most affected by invasive species of plant kind, which has hosted nearly 6,000 natural plants, ahead of Europe with 4,000 plant species on its territory.

On the other hand, the Pacific islands are those with a greater number of naturalized species. In this regard, the conclusions of the study indicate that islands could be more easily colonized the continents . According to Mauricio Velayos, “some areas of the northern hemisphere are the largest donors of naturalized species in the rest of the world, especially Europe and non-tropical Asia”.

To obtain these results, scientists have compiled a database internationally known as GloNAF . This information has been included in the initiative Global Naturalized Flora Alien , which sought to determine the human influence on the establishment of invasive species in a particular territory. But as Velayos says, “in tropical regions it is particularly difficult to establish with certainty whether the species are native or exotic, because we start from a level far below that of other regions information.” Quantify spread of invasive species will improve the conservation of natural populations

However, the researchers were able to infer global patterns from a fairly limited data. And the conclusions of the study are as worrying as important in the study of the conservation biology . The findings may help scientists predict in advance which species can become dominant in a particular region. They have been able to homogenize the knowledge of many plants, whether or not of invasive species, since according to the region received one name or another.

With the quantification of human impact on the establishment of new invasive species Thanks to the analysis of floristic catalog of 482 362 inland areas and islands , you write a new chapter in the study and conservation of the flora and fauna of our habitats. In determining the extent of this invasiveness and especially the factors that influence it, the scientists emphasize “the urgent need for comprehensive and integrated to control, manage and understand the spread of invasive species efforts.” Some invasive species, despite the beauty that demonstrate the following pictures, are endangering the natural populations in a given ecosystem.