Assignment 7: Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Invasive species are introduced into environment where they have no natural predators, as these species grow and reproduce they are killing of the natural environment that they have invaded. 

The Who: Invasive Species
The What: These plants and animals are introduced into environments and then are slowly killing off the natural environments.
The Why: They have no natural predators in these knew environments, so they slowly take over.

Testing the Who: This is a problem around the world. Mind you the invasive species are different for every environment. For example, anacondas in the Everglades compared to cane toads in South America which is the anacondas natural environment.
Testing the What: The biggest problem with this is that we don't want to effect the species natural environment or population to the point of extinction. We want to just remove the species from the area they do not belong. Along there is also a problem with the fact that we have to create plan of action without causing damage and each environment is different. In other words no two plan will be alike.
Testing the Why: The cause of invasive species is usually due to the involvement of humans. We keep exotic pets and when these pets get to large we get rid of them. This is the huge cause for the anaconda problem within the Everglades. These snakes where once peoples pets. Ships also carry invasive species in the water that they keep to help with buoyancy. Nature can also cause a problem though as we look at things like large storms. Things like hurricane can cause species to be transferred as well. For example the cow bird, this bird actually cause a huge blow to the quail populations. The biggest problem with most invasive species is not always the lack of predators but also the rate of reproduction.

Interviews:

1. For this interview I interviewed someone who knew relatively nothing about the topic at hand. As I discussed with them the about the issue they seemed to be confused. Their main suggestion was just trying to create a predator for these species or introducing a predator. They also didn't understand how this actually effected them personally. I spent a lot of time answering their question on the topic at hand, so that they would have context or my question. Once they understood, they still were not quite sure how this really effected them.
2. This interview I actually looked for an environmentalist. They discussed how for them they have found the education seems to the biggest problem in the field. They fact that the everyday person does not understand what the term invasive species means or how the issue actually effects them. 
3. For this interview I found someone out of the Animal Science department and discussed with them about invasive species and the big point that they discussed was the fact that a lot of the animals we eat everyday are animals we have actually import from other areas. For example most types cattle breeds are actually not native to the U.S.
4. This interview has actually taken environmental classes. They knew about multiple different species. Their view was that humans are impulsive and we due not consider the result of our actions before they happen. Usually these problems are caused because humans usually look to animals are solution without realizing that it is nothing more than a quick fix.
5. This interview new quite a bit about invasive species due to knowledge that they had acquired through watching different animal related programs on tv. They didn't really have any questions. Nor did they really show any interest in learning anymore about the topic. It wasn't a bad conversation or anything. It just didn't seem like something that really interested them as a person.

What I learned from most of these interviews was that the person I was talking to either knew what I was talking about in great detail or knew fairly little about the topic. So with the words from interview 2, I really think that if we are going to solve this problem we need to look into educating people about it. Out of interview 3, I think it is important to remember what we are defining as invasive species, because it will be helpful in out we are working to solve this problem. We also need to find a way to make it personable to the everyday person and not just environmentalists.