Background Information

         Ecosystems are a place where animals and plants live with the elements around them. There are about six different ecosystems in Colorado Springs. For example, subalpine tundra, juniper-forest, grossing. There are a lot of animals in Colorado Springs for example deer, bears and rabbits. These animals can be found all over Colorado Springs. The ecosystems in Colorado Springs are mountains that are clod and dry. There are also flat lands that are cold and dry with no so much deer and bear. Pinyon-juniper is a place in the moutons. Woodlands lies in a forest with all the animals that I named earlier.       

         A food chain is how energy moves form plant to animal to big and small. The sun hits the flower and the rabbit eats the flower and the rabbit gets the energy from the plant and then he goes to eat more but then a fox goes to eat the rabbit and then the fox gets the energy from him. The food chain goes to the bottom to the top of the chain. Then there is category the groups being primary consumer producers being the bottom of the chain. Then there are second consumer which means they eat the primary and gets eaten by the tertiary. The tertiary consumer does not get eaten so easily. This how a food chain works   

         An invasive species is non-native or alien to the environment. Their introduction causes environmental or economic harm. They can be plants, animals or any living organisms. Human actions are the primary cause of introduction of invasive species. Non- Native species are species that do not originate in the environment they are in but they do not cause any harm. People sometimes get them confused. An example of a non-native species is the Mullen in Camp Shady Brook. Invasive species can alter the food chain even if it is only one animal that was invasive. They can eat off certain species and make them go extinct in that certain ecosystem. The animal that they make go extinct may be a predator. This could allow its prey to over populate {because it has no predators} and eat all the vegetation for prey and other predators. For example, European Rabbits are invasive to Australia. They were so over populated they ate themselves and the whole ecosystem into starvation.

         The Emerald Ash Borer {EAB} or Agrilus Plannepis is an invasive species. It is 1\2 inches long and has dark green wings, six legs, and antenna. EAB’s eyes are dark black and round, their abdomen is a copperish-reddish- brown. Their larvae are creamy in color with bell shaped segments {Colorado Forest Services}. The EAB originated in china and eastern Asia. They feed on ash trees that make up 15-20% of Denver’s urban trees {Colorado Forest Services}. Adult EAB’s eat leaves, the larvae eat the phloem and cambium of the trees and bark. Also, they eat stems and are herbivores, Larvae of Emerald Ash Borer’s cause more damage, then the adults. Signs of EAB infection include S shaped marks on the wood, splits in the bark and 1\8 inch D shaped holes. They are only eaten by woodpeckers, and nuthatches. As well as some non-native wasps. They are classified as primary consumers because they only eat plants and are eaten by other animals. Currently it is the most destructive and costly insect in the united states.

 

Impact of EAB

         Our environment changes by some invasive species like EAB. It kills ash trees. Another way the environment changes is by the weather, tornados happen all the time and trees die and things get destroyed. The environment gets changed by fires it may be a wild fire or an earth quake. This is just some of a few environment changes there are a lot more to come.      

In every ecosystem invasive species impact the ecosystems negatively. While non-native species impact the ecosystem positively. Invasive species harm the environment and alter the food chain, it only takes one invasive species to do this. Most of the native species in the environment do not have any defense mechanisms against the invasive species. They also might not eat {prey on} that species, so they will overpopulate. The EAB will feed on our ash trees and kill them. The more dead trees there are, the faster fires will burn. A recent study showed ash mortality due to EAB was correlated with an increase of more then 6,100 and 15,000 deaths due to lower respiratory and cardiovascular disease {Daniel A. Hermes and Deborah G. McCullough}.  It is the most destructive and costly insect to invade the united states. If we do not prevent them from invading Colorado Springs this will happen to us too. We already have a bug called IPS beetle which caused a beetle boom similar to the EAB. With more trees downed in black forest their population is growing. If both of these bugs were in Colorado Springs it would be disastrous. The more dead trees there are the faster fires will burn and the quicker fires will spread.

 

Action plan

Step 1: Do not transported Ash trees for firewood or timber

Step 2: If you see signs of EAB repot it to a professional

Step 3: Only treat the tree if it’s

               -valuable to landscape or owner

               -healthy a few signs of Emerald Ash Borer               

                -located in the right site

Step 4: Only get a professional if the trees diameter is more than 15 inches- otherwise you can treat it yourself

Step 5: Save ash tree seeds so you can replant them later

         The emerald Ash Borer’s might adapt to be immune to the insecticide used to treat the ash trees. The insecticide would become in-effective to the ash trees. The insecticides would not be able to help the ash trees. emerald ash borers would adapt and make it more likely for them to survive. this would be called survival of the fittest (natural selection). in order for natural selection to occur they need to have an abundance of off-springs heritable traits, when they adapted they adapted in order to survive ability to survive and adapt.