Hawaii is a hotspot for alien species

[Guest Nicole]

Sorry, not those aliens.

A new study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution points to the Hawaiian Islandsas a global hotspot for "established alien species," or invasive breeds of plants, animals, and insects. So although when we picture the Big Island we may conjure its iconic giant sea turtles and surfing dolphins, it's actually teeming with life introduced by humans. Hundreds of feral pigs, goats, donkeys and sheep run free on land, while cute-but-destructive guppies are pervasive beneath the waves.

The study, conducted by an international team of scientists based at Durham University, is the first to identify global hot and coldspots of invasive species by analyzing data on eight different taxonomic groups (birds, fish, amphibians, mammals, reptiles, vascular plants, ants, and spiders). Yes, spiders get their own category. By identifying areas saturated with non-native species, the researchers were able to find trends—qualities that made these areas especially prone to ecosystem-upsetting infiltrators.

In particular, they found that hotspots are more common in island or coastal areas in regions with high gross domestic product per capita, and high human population density. In other words, wealthier, more populated areas connected to the ocean have more alien species. That means there is no doubt that we play a key role in introducing these potentially destructive creatures.

Read more: http://www.popsci.com/hawaii-alien-species#page-2

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

Find a video documentary on how the Hawaiian Islands were formed by Plate Tectonics,  and consider that they were formed by a Earth Crustal hot spot ........ that never moves.

Tectonic plates move to the west between volcanic eruptions, creating a string of islands ... but that hot spot never moves.

This is a geological hot spot ... not like the biological hot spots mentioned above ...

The African Sahara Desert has its own ecology now... quite different from the time it was lush jungle millions of years ago.

99% of all species that have ever lived are extinct today.

STUFF HAPPENS .... but I digress.

Perhaps even a Starship impacting the Earth deep below the Pacific Ocean.

It might just be..... "those aliens".

Hmmmmmm.