I would like to talk about the problem of invasive species. As humans have spread across the world they have brought many animals and plants with them. Some of these are basically harmless like the pheasant and dandelion. At the same time there are some that are extremely detrimental to the native ecosystems.
These invasive species usually do so well because they have high reproductive rates and short generation times. Also they have high dispersal rates, are habitat generalists, and have a broad diet. They also do really well living around humans. The community they come into also has a lot to do with how well they invade it. If they invade an area where they have no predators, or the prey has never had a predator that was similar, their populations will explode. Also it helps if the area they invade is similar to their native habitat and has a low diversity of native species.
The reasons invasive species become so bad is because nobody realizes it’s a problem until it is too late. When they are first introduced into and area they are at very low numbers and do not cause much damage. Then they start to increase a little more and a little more and that is when you have to put a stop to them. Because after that they explode and become so wide spread it is extremely difficult to control or get rid of them.
The two main invasive species I have a problem with are feral cats and feral hogs. These are two species that we bought over as pets and farm animals. Because of lack of effort on our part they are now a devastating problem in our native forests. Cats are extremely good predators and can destroy many of the song bird populations, they also spread diseases. Feral hogs destroy crop land and rip up soil causing erosion. They also out compete the deer for food.
These two animals are well adapted to be invasive, but it is also our fault. I think the main reasons they have become so bad is because we let them. Many people let their cats roam free and un- fixed. Also many people in the south keep their feral hog populations around because they like to hunt them.
There are ways to control and prevent the spread of these species we just need to take the initiative to do it. A very simple way to stop the cats is to have your pet spayed or neutered. Also keep your cat inside or fed so they do not need to hunt native species. I also think that we could put a serious dent in both of these species if the DNR would let people shoot feral cats and hogs on sight without special permits or tags. Another way I think would be a great way would be to put a bounty on these animals. This way more people have an incentive to kill them. Also instead of spending government money on projects that might not work you just pay a person ten bucks when they bring in the hide of the animal. I think this would be a good way to do it because it would be cheaper and it has been proven to work in the past. We completely eradicated the passenger pigeon and the American Bison by having a bounty on them, and their numbers were much higher than feral cats and hogs.
References:
Martha J. Groom, Gary K. Meffe, C.Ronald. Carroll.” Principles of Conservation Biology.” Third Edition. 2006. Sinauer Associates, Inc. p. 294-331
4 comments:
I think this is a very interesting perspective on the invasive species topic. When I think of invasive species, I think of plants like purple loostrife and so forth or even zebras mussels. Ferrel cats and hogs do not come to mind right away. I can see how ferrel cats are invasive, but I did not know about hogs in the south as being invasive.
I am a cat person myself, so making it legal to shoot cats seems a little wrong. Especially since cats are domesticated. Then again, they are diminishing our songbird population little by little. The only issue I see with this is that the "ferrel cat" might be someone's pet that went wondering onto someone's property. So getting them spayed and neutered and keeping them inside could solve that problem as well.
Very interesting stuff Gordon. However, I would like to make some comments on your recommended management strategies. In almost every state that has feral hogs, people are allowed to shoot them on sight. Wildlife biologist in Missouri for example actually carry rifles with specifically for the purpose of shooting feral hogs. Many states with much higher hog populations are unable to make much of a dent in their populations due to their ability to breed and to avoid people. Your idea for a bounty on the hogs is a very good idea though, and I think it would encourage a much higher harvest on them. However, I do not believe we would be able to completely eradicate them as many other things went into the eradication of passenger pigeons other than over harvest. We also did not completely eradicate bison.
I agree with some of your stances on cats. They should be spayed and neutered, and they should plain and simple not go outside, but in the end it is the owners choice. Placing a bounty on these animals would be a terrible idea. This would encourage people to kill peoples pets and many people would not like this rule, just look at the response of people in the state when the DNR tried to make cats an unprotected species. Unfortunately, the management of cats needs to be placed firmly on the owner. I think a better way of management would be to make it illegal for cats to be outside. Then opening a season on the remaining feral cats would be much more feasible.
Sarah,
I own cats too and shooting someones pet is wrong. But i feel that a pet cat and a ferrel cat are quite different. A pet cat has a collar and should be in supervison of its human companion who should be taking care of it. A ferrel cat has no collar runs from humans because it has gone wild and is found where cats should not be (in the woods). I think that most people could make this distinction so it would be okay to let people shoot wild cats.
Nate,
I agree that poeople are allowed to shoot freely andy wild hog they see. But in most cases it seems that many of the hunters of these pigs actually want to keep a population around and i feel that is why it is not making much of a dent. That is why i suggested putting a bounty on them. You can see in my post to sarah about my stanc on cats versus wild cats. but the idea you brougt up about making it illeagle to have a cat outside is a good idea because that would make the distinction much easier... but i think that making it illeagal to let a cat out would be very hard to pass.
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