[Coral-List] Exotic vs. Invasive.

White, Susan susan_white at fws.gov
Fri Feb 15 13:40:14 EST 2013


Hi John,

In the U.S., official definitions regarding invasive species were provided
in Executive Order 13112 signed by President William Clinton on February 3,
1999.  Similar definitions are accepted around the world to differentiate
these kinds of species.

"*Invasive species*" means an alien species whose introduction does or is
likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.

"*Alien species*" means, with respect to a particular ecosystem, any
species, including its seeds, eggs, spores, or other biological material
capable of propagating that species, that is not native to that ecosystem.

"Alien species" is synonymous with "exotic species".  More recently, we use
"non-native species" to describe these too.

So, native species can also be invasive when conditions change (nutrients,
for example) to select for one organism over another.  And,
exotic/alien/non-native species aren't always invasive.

- Susan


Susan White
Monuments Superintendent / Refuge Project Leader
Pacific Reefs National Wildlife Refuge and Monuments Complex
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
email:  susan_white at fws.gov             ph:  808/792-9560
http://www.fws.gov/marinenationalmonuments/

><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>
*Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument*
     Baker, Howland, Jarvis, Palmyra Atoll, Kingman Reef,
     Johnston Atoll, Wake Atoll National Wildlife Refuges
*Rose Atoll Marine National Monument*
     Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
*Marianas Trench Marine National Monument*
     Mariana Arc of Fire, Mariana Trench National Wildlife Refuges
><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>


Monthly mean CO2 measurement from the Mauna Loa observatory in
November 2012 was 392.81 ppm.   Nov 2011 = 390.24 ppm.   Nov 1958 = 313.33
ppm.
*Coral Reefs may stop growing with CO2 levels at 450 ppm.  *
*                 At 550 ppm, coral reefs start to dissolve.*



On Fri, Feb 15, 2013 at 6:26 AM, John Ware <jware at erols.com> wrote:

> Dear List,
>
> Ken Marks recent post concerning Tubastraea micranthus reminded me of an
> incident that occurred on a recent trip to Bonaire.  A divemaster was
> bemoaning the "invasion" of lionfish.  When I mentioned that the "poster
> coral" for Bonaire (Tubastraea sp) was invasive, I was severely
> chastised.  Lionfish were "invasive", Tubastraea was "exotic".
>
> I noted that Ken Marks used both "exotic" and "invasion" in his e-mail.
>  I had never thought about the distinction before.
>
> After Googling around a bit, I concluded that if the species under
> consideration was sort of cute, it was "exotic".  If it was ugly, it was
> "invasive".
>
> While that is a vast oversimplification, I wonder if the coral-reef
> community distinguishes "exotic" from "invasive" and, if so, is there a
> precise definition of the difference?
>
> John
>
> --
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