In our current age there are many troubling problems facing our national parks. From poaching and pollution to smog and climate change, our national parks are in an everlasting battle to stay up to the standards they have upheld for decades. The most damaging problem that is facing national parks today may actually be invasive species. Invasive species are unwelcome animals that damage the ecosystem of the park they inhabit. There are hundreds of different invasive species and they all impact parks negatively. Some damage to the park includes: exotic invasive plants covering approximately 1.4 million acres of lands and waters, a reported almost 1,500 populations of invasive animals and the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database identified 361 aquatic invasive species in 129 parks. I would like to go in depth about some examples of different species that are prominent in the U.S. and see how they got there, what they do, and how can we combat them.
Both plants and animals can be classified as invasive species, and both can cause detrimental harm to the ecosystem they reside in. one incredibly devastating invasive animal is the zebra mussel. The zebra mussel is a small freshwater mussel. This species was originally native to the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine. However, the zebra mussel has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas, and has become an invasive species in many countries worldwide. They feed almost entirely on algae and are about the size of a fingernail. They live underwater, attached to whatever is seemingly close to them as it can range from the underside of boats, other mussels, organic and inorganic materials such as wood, pipes and docks. They are easily identified by their D-shaped shells and unique stripped shaped patterns that encompass the entire mollusks body. Once they have become identified it is paramount that they are dealt with as soon as possible. They can gather in large clumps and enact a problem known as biofouling.
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Biofouling is defined as the fouling of pipes and underwater surfaces, such as rocks, by organisms such as barnacles and algae. This isn’t typically a problem for boats if the trip is short distance or the boat is large in stature, but boats, docks or intake pipes that are left in the water for a long period of time can become encrusted and be very difficult to clean. They can also cause engine problems to occur if they become stuck in the machinery. Biofouling is also a large problem within the ecosystems it takes place in as well. Zebra mussels can become attached to native mussels much like they do docks, and in large groups they can prevent the mussels from moving, feeding, reproducing, or regulating water properly. Also due to the zebra mussels’ fast reproduction cycles, many times they can out reproduce the native species and gain an advantage on food and resources that are necessary for native species mussel to thrive. This causes zebra mussels to gain a stranglehold on many water systems they begin to inhabit. They feed at a very high rate as well, and can clear a body of water of particles that many fish and other mollusks in the area feed off of. This obviously has a very harmful effect on the native life and causes many of the food chains that were in place to become very unbalanced.
Large quantities have run rampant in bodies of water in many national parks, specifically parks in the mid-east of the U.S. The finger lakes especially have an incredibly large population of zebra mussels that are negatively affecting the population of native species of mussels, of which there are over 300 species of. This is why it is very important that parks and organizations that oversee the wellness of bodies of water that have a chance of zebra mussels coming to live there know how to deal with this issue. Once a population of zebra mussels has become established in a water body, there is very little to be done to remove them. That is why prevention is really the only way to stop it from them from becoming a part of the ecosystem. Zebra mussels are dependent on a current to spread their populations. This means that they can only move downstream in a river, and need a ride if they are to move further upstream. They mostly move and spread through boats rides because the larva of the zebra mussel is too small for the eye to see. This is a reason why they move to new locations and spread so suddenly. To prevent this, boaters must take care to drain their boats, motors and live wells before leaving a lake or river, wash their boat and trailer thoroughly. This is far and away the best way to deal with zebra mussels, stop them before they ever have a chance to begin to populate the location which they are moved to. Much of this information about zebra mussel prevention has come from the National Park Service at the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Since 1992, the National Park Service at the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway has led the efforts designed to slow the spread of zebra mussels, their efforts have helped make ship captains more diligent about cleaning and rinsing out any parts of the boat that may possibly be contaminated with zebra mussel larvae.
Now that I have detailed the possible ecosystem altering effects that can be created from an unwanted animal being unknowingly transported to a location that they should not exist in. I will give an example of an invasive species of plant that is ravaging wildlife all over the United States.
This specific plant is known as the kudzu plant. Kudzu is a plant native to Japan and southeast China. Introduced to North America in the 19th century, and has been nicknamed the ‘vine that ate the South’. It has been spreading rapidly in the southern U.S., especially in the likes of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida. It is not the only Invasive species to come out of Japan as the Japanese beetles are an invasive species in North America. They are native to the islands of Japan, where their population is naturally controlled by predators such as wasps. These wasps do not exist in North America, and Japanese beetles have become a major pest to farmers. The kudzu plant is possibly much more detrimental to the environment than the Japanese beetle, as the beetle population is small in comparison to the amount of foliage that the kudzu plant can extend with in such a short amount of time.
Kudzu was introduced to the Southeast in 1883 at the New Orleans Exposition. The vine was widely marketed in the Southeast as an ornamental plant to be used to shade porches. At that time, it was actually believed that kudzu had important and useful traits that could help ecosystems. It was believed to be cheap cattle fodder and have the ability to control erosion which had spiked around the time of the dust bowl. By 1946, it was estimated that 3,000,000 acres of kudzu had been planted on farms covering the southeast of the United States. When bad farming conditions and rodent infestations caused a failure of growth to occur on many cotton farms, farmers began to abandon their farms. The climate and environment of the Southeastern United States allowed the kudzu to grow unchecked. In 1953 kudzu was removed from a list of suggested cover plants and listed it as a weed in 1970. By 1997, the vine was placed on the Federal Noxious Weed List Established in 1974 the program was created to control the spread of noxious weeds. The United States Secretary of Agriculture was given the authority to declare plants 'noxious weeds', and limit the interstate spread of such plants without a permit. Today, kudzu is estimated to cover 7,400,000 acres of land in the southeastern United States. It has also been recorded in parts of Canada, specifically Nova Scotia, Columbus, Ohio, and New York.
In its native regions the kudzu plant has many uses that can be beneficial, such as: food for livestock, in fertilizer, and to control erosion by covering it. It has also been used as the subject for many Japanese folk artists, as the vines have been said to have photogenic qualities. In Korea, kudzu root is harvested for its starch, which is used in various foods, while in China, kudzu root is used in herbal teas and some medicinal treatments. Although these treatments have come under some scrutiny over whether they actually work, it is very apparent that the kudzu plant is very useful in its native climates and ecosystem.
This is not the case in the United States where kudzu kills or damages other plants by smothering them under a blanket of leaves, overcoming tree trunks, breaking branches, or even uprooting entire trees kudzu's ability to grow quickly, survive in areas of low nitrogen availability, and acquire resources quickly allows it to out-compete native species. In a kind of ironic turn of events, some of the only plants that can grow at the same pace to compete with the kudzu plant are other invasive plants, such as the Chinese Privet and the Japanese Honeysuckle. Kudzu and other invasive weeds pose a significant threat to the biodiversity in the southeast. Kudzu is a very stress-tolerant plant and only the above ground portions of the plant are damaged by frost. Once established in a habitat, kudzu is able to grow very quickly. Kudzu can grow up to 60 feet per season, and it can weigh in at 180 kg. In addition to its abilities to obtain nutrients and spread quickly, kudzu leaves act in a parasitic type fashion. Meaning that instead of supporting itself, it grows on top of other plants and buildings to reach light. Its ability to reproduce and spread quickly allows it to quickly cover shrubs, trees, and forests, where it blocks the sun's rays from the plants below it, decreasing or completely eliminating their chances of obtaining the necessary sunlight to enact photosynthesis. The economic effects are also pretty drastic as the U.S. government loses one hundred to five hundred million dollars in possible forest productivity. Kudzu management is of great concern in the management of national parks in the southeast such as Vicksburg National Military Park, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In Vicksburg, kudzu has overtaken 190 of the 2,000 total acres of the park and threatens to diminish the history within the park.
Luckily, unlike in the case of the zebra mussel, the kudzu plant has a couple of ways be to controlled and managed. One means of kudzu removal practiced in the southeastern United States involves mowing the vine or cutting it back. This is incredibly time consuming and has a lot of upkeep as you have to remember to continuously cut back the ground level weeds at least every month during the kudzu plants growing season. Also, when using this method of kudzu control, all of the plant material must be removed permanently to prevent the vines from taking root and re-growing.
A different and less time-consuming option for the control of kudzu is treatment with herbicides. The most effective are picloram and tebuthiuron. However, chemical treatments are expensive, and killing off the plant completely requires large amounts of herbicides to be effective. Another form of removal other than herbicides is soil solarization. Soil solarization is a non-chemical environmentally friendly method for controlling pests using solar power to increase the soil temperature to levels at which many soil-borne plant pathogens will be killed or greatly weakened. This way to control the plant will kill the root of the plant, and it will be done without the use of harmful pesticides that can damage other plants and wildlife that inhabit the area around the kudzu plant. Another way to control kudzu is goats and sheep. A small herd can reduce an acre of kudzu every day. It has even been suggested that humans should eat kudzu as a way to help lessen the problem themselves. Which is frankly a ridiculous proposition that would definitely not work in practice. Some other efforts to control kudzu infestations have included the following methods: cutting, grazing, digging, disking, prescribed burning and application of herbicides. Roots of mature plants grow too deeply to be affected by freezing. Burning will kill only the very young plants.
These are only two examples of invasive species that harmfully affect national parks all over the world. And in each of the parks there are hundreds of invasive animal species and thousands of invasive plant species. In Yellow Stone National Park alone it is said: “In addition to about 1,386 native plant species, 225 nonnative species have been documented in the park through ongoing survey efforts. Not all of these nonnative species are still present in the park, but most of them are. A total of 120 acres (green circles) of invasive plants were treated in 2015” (National Park Service). It feels as if the national parks are fighting a losing battle as thousands of different invasive species cost different parks milliSns of dollars to deal with them every year. This is the reality that many national parks have to face, they have to fight a battle against overwhelming odds with very little possibilities to combat their foes. This is why the people who visit these parks have to do every little thing they can to prevent invasive from running rampant in the park that they would want to enjoy.
People visiting national parks may all be able to do a small part in combating invasive species that can ruin ecosystems so many people enjoy. One thing that people can do is clean their hiking and fishing gear. While hiking a trail or trying to fish at a stream you could be unknowingly collecting invasive species from your boots and waders as you hike and fish. It is extremely necessary that you spray and wipe your boots and waders down after each time used, especially if you are traveling with them, so that you don’t bring an invasive species anywhere further into the park Another thing that people could do to help is not move firewood. Firewood is often made out of dead or dying trees, which are often host to animals like the emerald ash borer, a highly damaging invasive species. Instead buy firewood and do not move the wood once you have it. Little things like this can really add up if everyone gets onboard with the conservation efforts. In reality however the most important thing you can do if you are exploring a national park is If you see an invasive species, report it. It is incredibly easy to do there are two main ways to carry it out. One is to report an invasive species by phone, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey maintain an ANS hotline. The second is an online form that must be filled out with details about how you found the species, where you found it, and what possible species it actually is.
Many people have little to no idea about the terror that invasive species cause. There are literally thousands of different species that run rampant all over the globe ruining natural beauty which has been ever present for hundreds of years. I didn’t even realize how harmful some of these species could be until I conducted research on the topic itself. Although I didn’t cover all of the possible invasive species that unfortunately inhabit our great national parks, the zebra mussel and the kudzu plant should easily illustrate the need for proper control and prevention methods to be carried out by the organizations that run national parks and maybe even more importantly, by the people that are strolling through along a trail admiring the beauty of a historic and breathtaking park.
Works Cited
- “10 Ways You Can Prevent the Spread of Invasive Species”. Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, 28 Feb. 2018, www.allianceforthebay.org/2018/02/10-ways-you-can-prevent-the-spread-of-invasive-species/
- Earth Rangers. “Ten of the World's Most Invasive Species: Earth Rangers Wild Wire Blog”. Earth Rangers, 3 Oct. 2018, www.earthrangers.com/wildwire/top-10/ten-of-the-worlds-most-invasive-species/
- Ericson, Jenny, et al. “U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service”. FAQs - Invasive Species - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, www.fws.gov/invasives/faq.html
- “Invasive Species, National Parks, and You (U.S. National Park Service)”. National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/articles/invasive-species.htm
- “Journey with Nature: Kudzu”. The Nature Conservancy, www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/indiana/stories-in-indiana/kudzu-invasive-species/
“Zebra Mussels”. Lake Scientist, www.lakescientist.com/zebra-mussels/
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