This Electronic Field Trip, "Biological Invasions: The Introduction of Non-Native Species Worldwide," will start you thinking about invasive species and how they affect you, how you affect them, and their introduction around the world.
Every day, thousands of commercial ships around the world are busy loading and unloading their cargo: computers, television sets, shoes, food, Playstations, books, clothing, etc. In addition to their intended cargo, however, these enormous vessels also ship other, unintended cargo. Hidden in the ships' ballast water — the water used to stabilize the ships when they're not carrying a load of cargo — and stuck to the ship's hulls, millions of tiny plants and animals are also making their way around the world.
These non-native organisms are released with ballast water into a new port during loading and unloading of cargo, or they are scraped off the hull. Though not all survive the big trip, some do, and some even adapt well to the environment. Some do so well that they out-compete local species, and others introduce diseases that quickly spread through the ecosystem.
Let's get started by looking at ecosystems. They are like the homes that we live in and the homes that we leave. All life – whether it's our size or microscopic or somewhere in between – lives within an ecosystem.
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