Five Key Threats To Biodiversity

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2. Alien species

Second on the paper’s list of threats is that of alien species.  As Man has homogenised the landscape to meet his desires, he has also encouraged species to invade and disrupt different ecosystems.

This is easiest to see in fast spreading species which visibly choke the established wildlife: kudzu in the south-eastern US, for example, or mink and grey squirrels in the UK.

However all of these are essentially communities and bring with them parasites and microbiotic life forms which can cause even greater devastation than their hosts.

Interestingly, the paper talks of raising public awareness and engagement in the battle against invasive alien species.  This kind of community lead involvement in the environment could well be key in ensuring the planet’s ecology can support Man long into the future.