Non-native invasive Species – their impact on the environment.

	Click to enlarge. Harlequin ladybirds.

What is a non-native invasive species?

These are species of plants and animals that are not native (natural) to an area and are often known under a number of different names:

• Non-native species
• Introduced species
• Exotic species
• Non-indigenous species
• Alien species
• Transplants
• Invasive species
   

An official US definition was provided for President Clinton in 1999:
‘Invasive species’ means an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm human health.

Why are non-native invasive species important?

According to the Convention on Biological Diversity: 

The threat to biodiversity due to invasive alien species is considered second only to that of habitat loss. Therefore they are a serious impediment to conservation and sustainable use of global, regional and local biodiversity, with significant undesirable impacts on the goods and services provided by ecosystems.
 Original source