1. Biodiversity of Alabama: Invasive Species

2. Invasive Species
Definition: non-native species that are brought into an area and then displace native species
Also called exotics, alien species or introduced species
Do not have natural predators or competitors

3. 68. Privet Introduced as a hedgerow
Spread by birds that eat the fruits
Outcompetes native shrubs and trees

4. 69. Kudzu Fast-growing climbing vine from Asia
Introduced to control erosion
Smothers native plants

5. 70. Cogongrass Introduced from Japan, accidentally and intentionally
Reasons it is a problem:
Fire hazard
Destroys native habitats
Livestock can’t eat it

6. 71. Mosquito Fish Small fish with bulbous body
An invasive species that was brought here to eat mosquito larvae that live in water

7. 72. European Starling
Released into New York City in the late1800s by a man who wanted to introduce to the U.S. all of the birds mentioned in Shakespeare
Now widespread across North America
Outcompetes many native birds for nest holes

8. 73. House Sparrow European species, now found worldwide
Aggressively outcompetes native cavity-nesting birds
“French fry birds” – thrive near humans

9. 74. Asiatic Clam Introduced from Asia
Very common in Cahaba River where they take over native clam species
Sandbar covered with clam shells

10. 75. Japanese Honeysuckle Grows as a vine and chokes out native plants
Can survive year-round giving it an advantage over some plants
Few natural enemies

11. 76. Hydrilla Clogs waterways, restricting recreation
kills other aquatic life by blocking sunlight and using oxygen
promotes mosquito breeding

12. 77. Chestnut Blight
Chestnut once comprised one-fourth to one-half of eastern U.S. forests, and was prized for its durable wood, and as a food for humans, livestock and wildlife. Today, only stump sprouts from killed trees remain.
Chestnut blight is a disease caused by a fungus that infects the tree

13. 78. Wild Boar
Sus scrofa
Probably introduced by European settlers originally, although subsequent releases of European “feral swine" and illegal trap and transplant operations by hunting enthusiasts have encouraged their hybridization and spread. 
Considered a direct and aggressive competitor with native wildlife and destroyer of natural plant communities of the state. 
“Every opportunity for eradication should be undertaken.”

14. 79. Fire Ants
The RIFA was accidentally introduced into the United States aboard a South American cargo ship that docked at the port of Mobile, Alabama, in the 1930s, and came to infest the majority of the Southern and Southwestern United States.