Pesky pets put strain on economy
Published: Wednesday | May 20, 2009
These alien species - plants, animals and microorganisms - cause heavy economic losses for countries every year by displacing com-mercially important species.
They also cause economic disruption by becoming pests to commercial crops, thereby reducing production output as well as affecting stages of important processes that will have implications for finished products in some industries.
Power generation and agriculture are two Jamaican industries particularly affected by invasive species.
The power-generation sector is affected mostly by the Asian Green Mussel, a large bivalve that is smooth and elongated.
It originated in the Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions and is believed to have been transported to Jamaica as a result of shipping activities through ballast water.
It was first discovered in Jamaica in February 1998 during the collection of mangrove roots from Kingston Harbour. Since then, it has dominated the harbour and has been found at most of Jamaica's shipping ports.
The green mussel colonises hard surfaces which project below the water and can be found on mangrove roots, pipes and pylons. Its rapid spread in these areas have caused serious problems for power plants which use seawater as a coolant, as they clog the intake pipes and can block the flow of water, resulting in damage to pumps.
This in turn affects plants' power-generating capacity and efficiency as more downtime is needed for maintenance and repair of the system. Examples of the power plants affected by the presence of the green mussel are the Jamaica Public Service plants at Rockfort and Old Harbour Bay.
Mite menace
Agriculture, on the other hand, has been affected by a number of invasive pests and parasites. The Red Palm mite is one such parasite.
Its presence was confirmed on the island in 2007. It is a tiny mite which is commonly found in Asia and is capable of rampantly destroying coconut and palm trees. It was first noticed and confirmed in the Caribbean in 2004 and has since spread to eastern and central Caribbean islands.
The Red Palm mite establishes colonies on the undersides of leaves, usually along the main vein. They feed on the leaves, rendering them brownish, eventually causing them to die and fall from trees.
After a decade of fallout in the coconut sector (1995-2005), with much of the losses attributed to the deadly lethal yellowing disease, the introduction of the mite has compounded this problem by destroying the efforts to revive the industry in Jamaica. It is believed that the replanting programme, during which 100,000 seedlings were distributed from 2002 to 2007, had very little success because of mite infestation.
The impact of invasive species on biodiversity has become more pronounced with the increase in global trade, and hence pathways for the movement of species between countries. Most invasive species go relatively unnoticed unless they directly impact human existence in a negative way, such as significantly affecting goods, services and industries. It is at this stage that attention is drawn to their effects and the necessary measures implemented to control or reverse the impacts.
Reversal is, however, rarely possible as invasive species have a high reproduction rate, that is, they are able to increase in numbers and spread rapidly in a short space of time.
Therefore, the best way to control invasive species is to prevent their introduction into the island. It is hoped that increased environmental awareness about their impact on biodiversity and industries will promote the implementation of more precautionary measures to prevent such introductions.
Contributed by members of the International Biodiversity Day committee - Institute of Jamaica, National Environment and Planning Agency, Office of the Prime Minister.