Invasive species in Australia

Invasive species are a threat to the native biodiversity of Australia and are an ongoing cost to Australian agriculture. The management of weeds costs AUD $3.5 billion yearly, management and the prevention of the introduction of new invasive species are key environmental and agricultural policy issues for the Australian Federal and State governments

Invasive species

Diseases, fungi and parasites

Invasive diseases, fungi and parasites in Australia affect many native plants and animals and agricultural crops.

Feral animals (introduced species)

Australia is host to 56 invasive vertebrate animal species. Feral animals in Australia are mainly domestic animals that have gone wild or were brought in for recreational use or in the case of the cane toad, were introduced as biological control of another pest. Feral animals causing most public concern and economic and ecological damage include the Cane toad (Bufo marinus), rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), feral camels (Camelus dromedarius), feral cats (Felis catus), feral goats (Capra hircus), feral horses (Equus caballus) and feral donkeys (Equus asinus), feral pigs (Sus scrofa)and feral water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Feral animals have very few predators in Australia.

See also: Rabbits in Australia.

Fire Ant

Insects and other invertebrates

Problem insects include, Red Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta), Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), honeybees (Apis mellifera) and European wasps (Vespula germanica)

Introduced marine pests

A number of marine pests have arrived in Australia in the ballast water of cargo ships. Marine pests include the Black-striped mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), the Asian Green mussel and the Northern Pacific seastar .

Weeds

Weeds invade natural ladscapes, waterways and agricultural land. A list of weeds of National significance was created in 1999, it includes the species in the following table.

Common Name	Scientific Name	Extent in Australia	Image
Alligator Weed	Alternanthera philoxeroides	WA, NT, QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, TAS
Athel Pine	Tamarix aphylla	WA, NT, QLD, NSW, VIC, SA
Bitou bush / Boneseed	Chrysanthemoides monilifera	WA, QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, TAS
Blackberry	Rubus fruticosus agg.	WA, QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, TAS, ACT
Bridal Creeper	Asparagus asparagoides	WA, NSW, VIC, SA, TAS
Cabomba	Cabomba caroliniana	NT, QLD, NSW, VIC
Chilean Needle Grass	Nassella neesiana	NSW, VIC, SA, ACT
Gorse	Ulex europaeus	WA, QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, TAS, ACT
Hymenachne	Hymenachne amplexicaulis	NT, QLD, SA
Lantana	Lantana camara	WA, NT, QLD, NSW
Mesquite	Prosopis spp.	WA, NT, QLD, NSW, VIC, SA
Mimosa	Mimosa pigra	NT
Parkinsonia	Parkinsonia aculeata	WA, NT, QLD
Parthenium weed	Parthenium hysterophorus	QLD, NSW, VIC
Pond Apple	Annona glabra	NT, QLD, NSW
Prickly Acacia	Acacia nilotica ssp. indica	QLD, NSW
Rubber Vine	Cryptostegia grandiflora	WA, QLD
Salvinia/ Giant salvinia	Salvinia molesta	WA, NT, QLD, NSW, SA
Serrated Tussock	Nassella trichotoma	NSW, VIC, TAS, ACT
Willows	Salix spp. except S. babylonica, S. X calodendron and S. X reichardtiji	NSW, VIC, ACT

Patterson's curse

There are many other noxious weeds through Australia including:

• Salvation Jane / Patterson's Curse (Echium plantagineum)
• Bellyache bush (Jatropha gossypifolia)
• Chinee Apple / chonky apple/ Indian jujube (Zizyphus mauritiana)
• Water hyacinth
• Water lettuce
• Opuntia stricta, prickly pear
• Orange Hawkweed
• Cardoon / Artichoke Thistle (Cynara cardunculus)
• African Boxthorn, Lycium ferocissimum

Weed management costs the Australian economy AUD$3.5 billion yearly, weeds are also an environmental problem, they are the second greatest threat to biodiversity after land clearing. Almost half of Australia's 220 declared noxious weeds (under legislation) were introduced deliberately, one third of these as garden ornamentals.

Management of invasive species

The management of invasive species is carried out by individuals, conservation groups and government agencies.

The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service is responsible for ensuring that no new species with the potential to become invasive species enter Australia.

There are a number of scientific bodies that are involved in research for the control of invasive species. The CSIRO has been involved in the release of several successful biological control agents and the development of chemical agents for pest and weed control. For example, the CSIRO released myxoma virus to control wild rabbits in Australia. Rabbit hemorrhagic disease escaped containment from an Australian Government research facility and spread across Australia. Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease was subsequently legalised for the control of wild rabbits. The moth Cactoblastis cactorum was introduced for the control of prickly pear, and the salvina weevil Cyrtobagous salviniae for the control of aquatic weed Salvinia. More doubtful biological controls were the Cane toad, which was introduced to control the sugar cane destroying cane beetle; instead the cane toad ate anything and everything else—the beetle was not its preferred food source given choice. The cane toad in Australia has become the biological control that is most infamous for having been a complete failure as well as becoming an environmental nightmare. It has also led to much public concern and caution when considering the introduction of new biological controls.

Another example of a poorly researched introduced biological control is the sap sucking lantana bug (Aconophora compressa) also from South America that was introduced into Australia in the 1995 to eat the lantana. Unfortunately, the lantana bug also attacks other trees including fiddlewood trees which has caused distress to some gardeners. The lantana bug had been tested for six years on 62 different plants. Aconophora Compressa was the 28th insect introduced to control lantana in about 80 years.

Cooperative Research Centres for weed management and pest animal control, have been established by the federal government. They coordinate research and funding between a number of university and government labs for research into control of invasive species.

References

• The Cooperative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management [1]
• CSIRO maine pest fact sheets [2]
• The Department of Environment and Heritage, Invasive Species [3]
• Weeds of National Significance [4]
• The Cooperative Research Centre for Pest Animal Control [5]
• feral.org.au [6]
• Rabbit Information Service [7]

External link

• Full list of noxious weeds in Australia