An+Invasive+Species+that+Helped+not+Hurt+another+Species?

= An Invasive Species that Helped not Hurt another Species? = 11/28/2017  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/28/science/birds-beaks-evolution-snails.html?ribbon-ad-idx=6&rref=science&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Science&action=keypress&region=FixedRight&pgtype=article Snail Kites are a species of birds that were almost on the brink of extinction and conversationalists assumed they were doomed when an invasive species of snails came into their habitat which would’ve made it very hard for Snail Kites to eat. The effect was the opposite of what many predicted, the Snail Kites population in the Everglades increased as the Kite’s beak evolved into something that could handle the invasive snail’s shell. Scientists were very surprised because the Snail Kite has a relatively long generation time yet the Kite was able to evolve drastically with an average of an 8% increase in beak and body size. It is likely that Natural Selection played a part in the drastic growth and it has also been observed that smaller Kites that were able to eat the invasive snails grew in size. This relates to Environmental Science in the way that non-native species are usually species that hurt the native species of a habitat. The introduction of non-native species can negatively affect humans and the native species in the ecosystem (Miller 209). It was mentioned that the Snail Kite was reaching dangerously low populations which also likely signified that it was an endangered species (Miller 687). It was logical for scientists to think that with the food source of an already endangered species being disrupted that the Kite would go extinct. The change seen in the species was very quick and over very few generations of the species in the Everglades and was likely a microevolution (Miller 141). The topics of species extinction and survival are big concepts in our Environmental Science curriculum. This type of thing is inspiring in the way that it could provide ideas on how to deal with invasive species. If environmentalists would be able to develop ways to integrate an invasive species into an environment it may benefit many species as they’d have minimal niche disruption and it would lower rates of extinction. This scenario shows that the right combination of a species with an invasive species can have a beneficial effect, especially towards a species that could be close to extinction. An environmental law somewhat related to this is the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 which gave the Bureau of Land Management its first real authority to manage the public land under its control. It relates to this article as a solution for some endangered species could be the introduction of invasive species because they have the power to manage the land. http://www.esasuccess.org/2016/florida.shtml
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