For example, in California, the plants eaten by local butterflies are exotic species. In Puerto Rico, with the help of exotic trees, some abandoned pastures have been restored and become suitable for the growth of local plants. Even harmful mussels can filter toxins from lake water.
We expect that the proportion of benign alien species will even increase gradually. Martin shriver, an ecologist at new york State University, and his colleagues wrote in an article published in the journal Conservation Biology on February 22nd.
According to shriver's research team, biologists tend to be biased against invasive species and are unwilling to publish some examples of ecological benefits of invasive species.
They studied and commented on several papers about alien species and found evidence to support this unorthodox view. Invasive species underestimate beneficial functions, such as serving ecosystems, filling areas destroyed by human beings, and maintaining a near-natural healthy environment when many ecosystems cannot survive.
Shriver and his colleagues admit that they are biased themselves. The negative effects listed here are not complete, only the negative effects directly relative to those positive effects. They wrote that many non-native species are harmful to the ecology.
However, their goal is not to make a convincing comprehensive analysis of invasive species, but to encourage a more tolerant attitude. After all, when people mentioned them before, they mostly used militarized or even exclusive language.
After all, many of our favorite native species were once invasive species. It also includes several kinds of bees introduced to North America in16th century. We are not declaring war on bees, but worrying about whether this invasive species will disappear.