In Ireland we have more alien plant species (987 species) recorded than native plants (952 species)
Travel by people and trade of goods from one region to another are largely responsible for the introductions of alien species. Some of these introductions are purposeful, such as the introduction of Sitka spruce from Canada for use in forest plantations. Others, such as zebra mussels, are hitchhikers, most likely on boats imported from Britain in the early 1990s when economic conditions for second-hand boat sales were favourable.
The conversion of forest to agricultural land fundamentally changes the conditions that native species in that location are adapted to. The species that are most likely to get to these altered locations are those transported by humans and tolerant of our habits. It is not surprising, therefore, that invaders take over when we change ecosystems.
Islands, especially remote islands with specialised native species found nowhere else, are particularly vulnerable to species invasions. The brown tree snake was introduced accidentally to the island of Guam, an isolated US territory in the western Pacific, after the second World War and proceeded to cause the extinction of several native bird species. Invasive alien species are implicated, either solely or together with other drivers, in more than 60 per cent of global species extinctions.
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