Episode 3: The two-sided coin of global ecology: Endemic and Invasive Species

As evolution tinkered with the animal and plant kingdoms and drove the development of the world’s incredible diversity of flora and fauna, many species developed in isolation and gradually became their own unique species found nowhere else in the world. These endemic organisms now often live in small communities, inhabiting localized environments over a confined geographic range. With the globalization of the world in the modern era came a new group of organisms that exist as opposites of endemic animals — generalist creatures that have advanced from their original range and taken hold in diverse regions across the globe. We know these species as invasive species.

With recent travel to the Neotropics and Greater Antilles acting as inspiration, we discuss the differences between endemic and invasive species, the difficulties that pock the relationships of these organisms, threats faced by endemic species, the negative impacts of many invasive organisms, and the ethical challenges of navigating the control of non-native creatures in their extended range.