Maybe you’ve heard the term “invasive” attached to a plant or animal species and you’ve thought to yourself, “what makes something invasive?”

In short, an invasive species is a living organism that has been brought by humans (on purpose or by accident) to live in an area where it does not naturally occur. Once introduced, invasive species grow in number and reproduce more rapidly than species that occur naturally in that region.

Invasive species are the opposite of native species. Native species to our neck of the woods in southwest Ohio are animals like white-tailed deer, coyotes, Northern Cardinals, bobcats, and plants like red oak, sugar maple, Purple Coneflower and Big Bluestem. These organisms have evolved and adapted together over many thousands of years in a specific area of the world. These plant and animal species form a web of organisms that rely on each other for food and shelter in complex ways that can be hard to anticipate.

Another common term thrown around in these conversations is, “nonnative species.” Invasive species are similar to nonnative species, but the terms cannot be used as if they mean the same thing. Nonnative species are also transported by humans to areas where they don’t naturally occur, but these species do not explosively reproduce on their own. Many livestock animals and cultivated crops are nonnative species, but they almost always require human intervention to form a thriving population under specific conditions. So an invasive species is always nonnative, but a nonnative species isn’t always invasive. Why are invasive species a problem?

A healthy ecosystem is an ecosystem with high biodiversity. Biodiversity is the measure of how many different types of living organisms are present in a given region. Invasive species lower biodiversity by growing so rapidly and taking up so many resources (like food, water, sunlight, shelter, etc.) that the native species cannot survive. Low biodiversity could look like a forest of primarily one species of tree, like pine trees for example. There may only be a handful of species of birds, mammals, fungi, and other plants present.

Now, imagine a disease ripping through the forest that only affects pine trees.

In the highly biodiverse forest, many of the pine trees die off, but because many other tree species are present, the forest remains mostly intact. The species of animals that rely directly on the pine would be reduced in number, but they could still persist. In the low biodiversity forest of pines, most if not all of the forest would be gone because it was only made up of pine trees. The plants that needed the shade of the forest would die out, animals that used the pinecones as food and the trees as a haven for shelter would move on to another region or die off.

So what species are invasive in Southwest Ohio and what can I do?

Unfortunately there are many invasive species in the U.S. including plants, insects, and other animals. Some of the more common invasive plants include Amur honeysuckle, Callery pear, tree of heaven, lesser celandine, Asian bittersweet, and cutleaf teasel. This is not a comprehensive list by any means and more information can be found on the Ohio Invasive Plant Council’s website HERE. Invasive animals to Ohio include but are not limited to emerald ash borer, zebra mussel, spotted lanternfly, Asian long-horned beetle, and many more. For more information on invasive animal species, check out the Ohio Division of Natural Resources’ invasive species page HERE.

The best thing you can do to prevent and slow the spread of invasive species is educate yourself and take the steps listed below gathered from The Nature Conservancy’s website:

• Verify that the plants you buy for your yard or garden are not invasive. Replace invasive plants in your garden with non-invasive alternatives. We have resources listed at the end of this page for more information on buying native plants and identifying invasive ones.
• When boating, clean your boat thoroughly before transporting it to a different body of water.
• Clean your boots before you hike in a new area to get rid of hitchhiking weed seeds and pathogens.
• Don’t “pack a pest” when traveling. Fruits and vegetables, plants, insects and animals can carry pests or become invasive themselves. Don’t move firewood (it can harbor forest pests), clean your bags and boots after each hike, and throw out food before you travel from place to place.
• Don’t release aquarium fish and plants, live bait or other exotic animals into the wild. If you plan to own an exotic pet, do your research and plan to make sure you can commit to looking after it.
• Volunteer at your local park, refuge or other wildlife area to help remove invasive species. Help educate others about the threat.

MetroParks of Butler County’s Operations and Natural Resources & Conservation staff regularly hold volunteer events to remove invasive species from our parks and you can become a part of that effort! Visit our website to sign up and join us!

About the Author:

Shelby Ashcraft is MetroParks’ North Zone Assistant Park Manager.