Biodiversity and Evolution
How do invasive species harm an ecosystem?
Answered by
Planet Green
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Planet Green
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Invasive species can have a variety of negative effects on the different ecosystems they penetrate, depending on the ecological characteristics of each specific habitat. They can outcompete native species; they can hybridize them; they can evolve genetically and adapt behaviorally to their new environs; and they can form ecological coalitions with some native species while sending others into a tailspin or even extinction.
On some occasions, native species fight back using similar tactics. But because the alien species often lack native predators or pests, they sometimes prove too powerful for natives to withstand.
(Thinkstock)
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