Hawaii never had mosquitoes until larvae arrived in the bilge of whaling ships in the early 1800s. If you’ve ever been to the wetter parts of any island there you’ve seen what a problem they are now. Feral cats are an even bigger problem to native species. They don’t seem to have any natural predators and have spread to every island with devastating effect on birds and other small critters. The endangered status and even extinction of multiple native bird species are directly attributable to feral cat predation. Feral cats even endanger the resident monk seals with a single-celled organism spread through their scat.
Here on the mainland we have kudzu vine smothering southern forests. European starlings dominating habitat. Ditto house sparrows. Burmese pythons with huge appetites and no natural predators in the Everglades. Tamarisk trees along the Colorado River out-compete native vegetation and dominate the banks.
Rabbits were introduced to Australia for food. Now they’ve taken over the continent.
The list goes on. Invasive species are a problem everywhere. They endanger the natural order of things. What is the *most* invasive species on the planet? There are so many to choose from, but my vote would go to Homo Sapiens.
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