The red lionfish, Pterois volitans, has beautiful red stripes, streaming fins, and a fearless disposition, and it is deadly. Native to the Pacific Ocean, the red lionfish was first discovered on coral reefs in the Bahamas in 1985. The species has spread to over 3 million square kilometers of the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Lionfish have a voracious appetite for native fish, are armed with venomous spines, and have no natural predators in their new range. Why are species like the lionfish considered 'invasive'? a. They are found in areas where they are not native. b. They were accidentally introduced by humans. c. They spread aggressively and displace native species. d. They are predators of other fish.

Question

Accepted Answer

Welcome back. Let's look at our next question. It says the non native species which established themselves in a local ecosystem. Out competing and dislodging the native species are called. Well, when you have this situation where you have a non native species that establishes itself where it doesn't belong originally and then as a result of out competing and dislodging the native species. Um The term for that is we find here in choice c invasive species. You can kind of guess by that name like like an invader coming. Um These often get introduced because they come from other geographical regions. They get introduced a lot of times with international shipping, they can come in with ship ballast water if it's sea creatures, they can come in with cargo. Um You think of insects being carried with fruit from other areas. They can be introduced by people, people releasing pets. You have an issue in florida with pet snakes being released and killing other animals there and accidental release um not intended. And this often as a result, it can lead to the extinction of native species if they out compete or perhaps their predatory animals and the native species have no defense against this leads to a loss of biodiversity. Quite often, especially because if you have them out compete or prey on something that's part of a food chain other animals in the habitat that depend on that organism for food will also be affected and can permanently alter habitats, especially in the case of plants. Um Or again if you have some species that just um causes the loss of several different animal species. So again, we're looking at invasive species. Let's just look briefly at our other answer choices to understand why they're not correct. Choice A says extinct species. Well, an extinct species is one that no longer is present to all the individuals have died. There's no more living examples. Choice B. Is endangered species, endangered species. One that's in danger of becoming extinct. Its population has dropped to a dangerously low level. Um Again, this is both of these can happen as a result of invasive species coming into their ecosystem. And finally, Choice D. Is protected species. That's when you have legal protections preventing uh an animal from being hunted or killed, an attempt to prevent it from becoming extinct. So Choice D. Is not our answer again. Non native species which established themselves in the local ecosystem. Out competing and dislodging the native species are called choice C invasive species. See you in the next video.

Verified Solution

Key Concepts

Invasive Species

Ecological Impact

Human Activity and Species Introduction