What would happen if a nonnative beetle began to kill off the oak trees?
Some idea of the results may be seen in the history of Dutch elm disease, which has killed off many of the historic elms in a lot of American cities. If oaks were targeted, many creatures that live in the oak habitat would be threatened. Oaks are a major source of food for many birds and mammals. The trees also supply nesting sites, shade, temperature moderation, and cover, and help with soil retention. At the very least, such a scenario would be unpleasant to people, and create problems that would require the expenditure of scarce resources to deal with. The sad history of the deliberate introduction of non-native species to control some plant or animal thought to be undesirable shows how much damage can be done. Read about Dutch elm disease here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_elm_d… A comprehensive discussion of many issues relating to non-native species’ introduction is here:
