Chapter 1 WHAT ARE ANIMAL INVADERS crates from China arrive at a busy warehouse in the United States Workers are so busy unpacking Wooden Wooden the materials that they do not notice a black beetle peeking out from one of the crates The beetle scurries across the floor and underneath the warehouse door Invasive species can travel to new locations on cargo ships 4
DID YOU KNOW Technology has made it easier for people to travel farther People in the United States also consume many products that are imported from other countries Increased travel and importation raise the risk of carrying an invasive species to a new location Sugar cane farmers in Hawaii have a problem with insects eating their crops The farmers import the cane toad from South America to eat the insects The toads grow very large and breed rapidly They are poisonous to anything that tries to eat them Now the cane toads are the real pests These are examples of animal invaders The animals are brought to a new environment Sometimes they are brought accidentally and sometimes on purpose These animals have invaded parts of the United States They have caused problems in their new habitats They have become invasive species 5
Some invasive species can cling to the undersides of boats and be brought to new bodies of water HABITAT HOMES NATIVES VS INVADERS A habitat is the natural environment where an animal lives The habitat provides everything that the animal needs to survive This includes food water and shelter Most animals adapt to the habitat in which they live This means they have the characteristics they need to survive there For example camels have long eyelashes to protect their eyes from the blowing dirt and sand in the deserts where they live Because most animals are specifically adapted to their habitats they are not usually able to survive in a completely different environment 6
Native animals are animals that existed in their habitats before the arrival of humans Nonnative animals are animals that have been brought to a new location Invasive species are those nonnative species that cause harm to other species in the ecosystem where they have been introduced Usually nonnative animals are transferred through human activity The introduction of these new animals can often cause serious problems When problems arise the animal becomes an invasive species Nonnative species usually only survive if a new location is a similar habitat to the one the animal came from An animal that is used to living in a forest with lots of water and trees would die in a dry desert 7
