What kind of ecological impacts do marine invasive species have?
These species compete with native species and therefore threaten their diversity and abundance. They can change whole ecosystem processes by upsetting the natural balance. This lowers the ecosystem’s ability to cope with different pressures and impacts. All of this can result in lower biodiversity and an unhealthy ecosystem. It is also believed that invasive species have caused extinctions in land environments but there is not enough evidence yet to prove that marine invasive species have caused extinctions in the marine environment. Are damaged habitats more vulnerable to invasive species? Invasive species are more likely to settle in habitats that have been damaged. For example the 1998 bleaching event killed 80-90% of the coral reefs in the Seychelles, leaving them more vulnerable to invasions. It is therefore important to protect marine environments from other human impacts because a healthy ecosystem will be more resistant to introduced species becoming established. What kind of e
