Invasive species cost Florida tens of millions of dollars each year. The state has been called “ground zero” for these plants and animals because of its warm, welcoming environment, especially in South Florida.
“We're at the southern end of the temperate zone, and we're at the northern end of the tropical zone. So many different species can survive here, and we don't have harsh winters. We don't have freezes,” said Dr. Frank Ridgley, the head of conservation and research at Zoo Miami.
There, he spoke on a live broadcast of "The Florida Roundup" on Friday about how invasive species displace native organisms and disrupt the ecosystem.
"We have more invasive reptile amphibians than any other place in the world. …. The numbers of dollars that are spent or lost are staggering in the state. So it's a major problem."
The other costs – including to the environment and human health – are harder to measure, Ridgely said.
“But we do know that something like a third of our biomass and plants in the state are invasive species.”
How did they get here?
Flamingos, for a long time, were thought not to be native in Florida. But it turns out they are, and Miami has led the way in trying to get Florida flamingos recognized as a native species.
“And so, in a way, we got rid of a nonnative species by just changing their designation. … We corrected a historical wrong,” Ridgley said.
But most other invasive and nonnative species actually did come from somewhere else.
Some were brought as pets, like iguanas and several types of pythons.
Some of them made it to the wild intentionally, when pet owners illegally released them, and some unintentionally, escaping from damaged warehouses after hurricanes, which prompted the state to require exotic pet breeders and sellers to submit their plans for keeping that from happening again as part of licensing requirements.
“Eighty percent of all invasive animals were through the pet trade,” Ridgley said.
Some, both plants and animals, can also come as stowaways in shipments of goods. But that goes both ways.
“We have the amazing port of Miami, but with that comes traffic from around the world, and you can have stowaways, both coming in and going out from Florida,” Ridgley said.
“In fact, we looked at some of the genetics of the boa constrictors in Puerto Rico, and they're very closely related to the ones in Florida. So, which came first? But yeah, there definitely has been transit of invasives across the Caribbean from different sources.”
What can residents do about invasive species?
Peacocks. Iguanas. Lionfish. Feral Hogs. Cane toads. Cuban tree frogs. Pythons.
These are just a few of the invasive animals in Florida, and that doesn’t even begin to consider the many invasive plant species, like the Brazilian pepper and golden rain tree.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has a hotline people can call if they see invasive species in public.
You can report sightings of these species to 1-888-IveGot1 (1-888-483-4681) and other nonnative species online at Ivegot1.org or by using the IveGot1 app.
Some of the invasive animals are protected, like peacocks. Others can be humanely euthanized, like the Cuban tree frog, which is decimating local frog populations.
Ridgley, citing recommendations that can be found on the University of Florida Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation website, encourages applying toothache gel, or sunburn or first-aid spray containing 20 percent benzocaine to the frog, but not spraying its eyes as that can be painful.
Then the frog can be placed in a bag in the freezer for 24 hours. Alternatively, you can adopt the frogs as pets. Just know it’s illegal to release them back into the wild.
For plants, the Florida Invasive Species Council has resources for residents to help identify, remove and kill them before they spread.
This story was compiled off an interview conducted by Tom Hudson for “The Florida Roundup” at Zoo Miami.
