Definition: a plant or animal introduced by people which then damages its new environment

Ways an invasive species may cause harm

• It may eat native organisms.

• It can bring an unfamiliar .

• It may compete with native species for food.

• It can put the survival of an entire  at risk.

How invasive species reach new areas

• accidentally, for example on people returning from their  or in ship cargo
• deliberately, for pest control or to be kept as 

Examples Rhinella marina toads

• They were brought from Hawaii to Australia in 1935 to control beetles damaging  crops.

• They did not solve the original problem and spread throughout northern Australia.

• Their poison kills predators, while their numbers reduce food for native frogs.

Other examples in the UK

• Japanese knotweed was once valued by nineteenth+century gardeners.

• Rhododendrons stop  from reaching plants beneath them.
• Grey squirrels compete with red squirrels for food and carry a deadly .

Controlling invasive species

• Monitoring provides information about their  and environmental effects.
• A nationwide  allows organisations to share records and track them.
• The public can help by being asked to  suspected invasive species and report sightings.