ASSIGNMENT - ALIEN SPECIES

A)
1. A Philippine wasp, Opius oophilus, was introduced to Hawaii to control the Oriental
fruit fly pest that fed on mangoes and other tropical fruit.

2. Tree frogs were accidentally introduced to the Galapagos archipelago through food
and materials brought in. These frogs became established in the wetlands on Isabela
Island. This species has had a great impact: not only do they completely change the
habitat, as Galapagos was an environment free of amphibians, they also eat insects and,
in doing so, compete with native insect-eaters.

3. Many different species were introduced to the Galapagos Islands, most notably
domesticated animals that are part of agriculture. The goat, for example, destroyed much
of the local flora through overgrazing. This not only damages biodiversity of the flora, it
also affects the endemic herbivores of the region, such as tortoises that were displaced
from their feeding sites.

B)
In the case of introduced goats in the Galapagos Islands, the direct effects include the
destruction of plants through overgrazing. Terrain was also damaged because, as the
layer of plants was removed by goats, soil was washed away by rain. On top of this,
overgrazing caused there to be less food available for endemic species that are less
aggressive. The tortoise has been mostly displaced from its feeding sites. Introduced
species also increase the danger of predation of endemic species. The introduction of
cats created a massive impact on the land iguana population. Cats and dogs hunt and
eat iguana eggs. The land iguanas natural predators (hawks, herons and snakes) only
hunt young iguana, as they get too big after they become a year old. Cats, however, can
continue to hunt iguanas, up until they reach the age of around four. This overhunting by
introduced species brought the land iguana to the brink of extinction, and in it is extinct
in Santiago Island. But introduced species do not all have negative effects. The Australian
ladybug was introduced in order to control the cottony cushion scale insect pest and has
been largely successful.

C)
i) The cuttony cushion scale is an invasive species in the Galapagos Islands that has
been biologically controlled.
ii) To control the pest, the Australian ladybug was introduced.
iii) The introduction of the Australian ladybug has been acclaimed as a very effective and
safe way of solving the pest problem in Galapagos islands. Tests conducted in 2010 have
shown that the ladybug very effectively suppressed the cushion scale insect while leaving
other endemic plant and insect species intact. There was some concern because the
ladybug was ineffective on a few plant species.