Invasive Species

A species is a group of plants or animals that are alike and can produce offspring under natural conditions. Nobody knows how many different species of plants and animals there are on the Earth. That's because there are a lot of places scientists haven't been and some life is very small and hard to find. But still, every year scientists discover new species.

Species can be native to their habitat, that means they occur naturally. Exotic species are not native to an area. Sometimes an exotic species will overwhelm native species, when this happens the exotic species is called an invasive species.

Exotic species can harm native species by competing for resources. They can upset predator prey relationships and they can overrun a habitat. Many exotic species are introduced intentionally.

Introduction of Exotic Species - Humans introduce some exotic species, others species expand their ranges naturally.