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Words Matter: When and How to Use the Words Invasive Species

Florida is a hotspot for nonnative and invasive species, but there hasn't been a consistent way to talk about these species until now. In this episode, we explore the various words biologists, park rangers, the public, and news media use to describe nonnative and invasive species. We will define and explain invasive species vocabulary and clarify what these words mean. 

Episode Transcript:

SHANNON:
On today's episode, you're going to learn all about the words we use when we're talking about invasive species. Everything from native and nonnative to nuisance and everything in between. Learn that and so much more, on today's episode.

LARA:
Welcome to “Naturally Florida,” a podcast about Florida's natural areas and the wild things that live here. I'm Lara Milligan.

SHANNON:
And I'm Shannon Carnevale.

LARA:
This podcast is brought to you by UF/IFAS Extension in Polk and Pinellas Counties.

LARA:
Shannon, I saw the headline about iguanas falling from trees (LAUGHS) as a result of the oncoming freeze. And that is like, I know, horrifying to a lot of people. Have you ever seen this?

SHANNON:
(LAUGHS) I haven't seen it in person. I've heard a lot about it, and I've seen those headlines. I mean, how could you miss them? (LAUGHTER) I mean, they were everywhere. It was all over social media. And it's pretty exciting for a cold front.

LARA:
Yeah. And it's not something that people in south Florida always experience. I mean, we both grew up there, but these iguanas are considered invasive, which means they've moved from somewhere else. We'll get more into that in a second. But today, we kind of wanted to talk about kind of the big picture of invasive species and all the different terminology. What makes something “native”? What makes something…?

Well, we'll talk about other terms like “exotic,” “nuisance” and things like that. But we thought iguanas would be like a really good example to start off with because it's been like in the national news.

SHANNON:
Yeah, and it's also about to be National Invasive Species Awareness Week, which always takes place in February or March. So it's a perfect time to really dive into this vocab and get a good, you know, community understanding of what these words mean.

LARA:
So when we talk about the iguana, going back to that, are they only invasive then like in South Florida?

SHANNON:
Yes, pretty much. We could say that iguanas are invasive to Florida. But we can be more specific by saying that they are invasive to south Florida and potentially central Florida, depending on the weather. They're not very cold hardy. So we're not really expecting iguanas to spread throughout Florida. But they are definitely an invasive problem in south and parts of central Florida.

LARA:
Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. So when we're talking about “invasive,” let's just go ahead and define that term because you've already said it a lot and there's some specific criteria to that word.


SHANNON:
Yes. And we're going to need to define the words in the definition (LAUGHTER) in a little bit. But we can just start off with what an invasive species is. So for a species to be invasive, it has to be non-native to the area that you're talking about. It also needs to be established and reproducing on its own without our help.

What I mean by that is, you know, some livestock, for instance, would not be able to maintain a population in the wild, but iguanas definitely can. They're reproducing. Their population is spreading. And then the third and most important part of the invasive species definition is that the species needs to be causing or is likely to cause harm. And that harm could be environmental harm, economic harm or a public health danger to society as a whole.

So if it's doing those three things, if it's non-native, if it's established and reproducing and it's causing some sort of harm, large groups of experts like the Florida Invasive Species Partnership will label a species as invasive, as they have done with iguanas and other species we've talked about like the Cuban tree frog in one of our previous episodes.

LARA:
Okay. Yeah. And then let's just briefly kind of the other term that's associated with that, or the opposite I guess if you would, would be “native species.” So let's just clarify that.

SHANNON:
Right. So a native species is a species that has naturally evolved in that ecosystem. The actual opposite to native though, is not invasive. The opposite is a non-native species, and that's just any species from somewhere else.

LARA:
Yeah. Thank you. I even misspoke there in my own way, so we can see how these terms can be confusing. So, yeah, there's native and non-native. And then, again, if it meets those three criteria Shannon mentioned, then we call it invasive. And so what's an example, I guess, of a non-native species that is not invasive?

SHANNON:
Fantastic question! We are surrounded by them. Most of our landscaping plants are not native to Florida, and they're not problematic, most of them. Some of them can have some weedy properties in your own yard. But we have a lot of non-native species that are perfectly fine to have in your landscape. So some great examples of non-native plants that aren't problematic would be a lot of the species on our Florida-Friendly Landscaping Guide.

LARA:
Yeah. Now, something that I hear a lot is somebody will refer to a native species as being invasive. They'll say like, “Oh, this is an invasive native or a native invasive.” Is that a thing?
SHANNON:
No, that's not a thing. So if we think back to the definition of what an invasive species is, the first criteria is that it is not native to the area in which you are talking about. So for someone to say, for instance, grapevine, which I know is an irritating plant to a lot of people. We have, you know, several varieties of native grapevine in the state, but they can grow out of control. They can grow to a degree at which people think they're very weedy or a nuisance, but they're not invasive. Because they're native, they cannot be invasive.

LARA:
Yeah, I think that's really helpful. And I think like, of all the things to clarify, that to me is most helpful. Because it's not fair, I feel like, to classify a native species as invasive once you kind of look at, again, all those criteria that you outlined before. What's some other terms that you hear that are maybe like misused or can be confusing?

SHANNON:
I hear “exotic” a lot. And the better term really is “non-native.” And it seems like semantics, right? It's like, well, why does it matter if I use the word “exotic” or “non-native”? Well, in Florida, exotic is a good thing for a lot of people. It just creates confusion. Exotic has a lot of different meanings. And so when I hear “invasive exotic,” first of all, we already know it's non-native because it's an invasive species, so we're being repetitive there. We don't need to use all those words. And “non-native” really is a better choice than the word “exotic.”

LARA:
Okay. Yeah, that definitely makes sense. And yeah, I would say exotic is definitely thrown around in all aspects of our landscapes, plants, animals, especially in Florida. I have also heard, I do a lot of education about coyotes and one of the things that I always talk about is how they've expanded their range. So like they are native to one area and they've just over time for natural reasons, they've just expanded their range.
And so I kind of wanted to talk about that a little bit, this idea of range change.

SHANNON:
Right. So coyotes are one of a couple of species going through a natural range change at this time. And range changes can be caused by things like climate change and weather patterns changing. They can also be aided by society growing and changing the landscape.  But it's not an invasive problem because they're not really not native either. So while they're not native to Florida, they're also not exclusively non-native.

And so one way you can think about this is when we talk about urban development, right? When we're talking about developing an area and getting rid of that natural area to put a neighborhood in, we often think about all the species that don't thrive in that environment. We're harming them or we're changing their range in a negative way by taking away that habitat.

Coyotes are one of many species that actually do really well in environments that humans have started to live in. And so they're able to really adapt and take advantage of that human influence on the ecosystem. And so that's thought to be one of the reasons they're changing their range. But since they are kind of in a gray area, they're also not considered invasive.

LARA:
Yeah. Yeah, that's a good one because and I think it further highlights something that Shannon and I want to emphasize is that in this world of kind of categorizing species as invasive, native, all these different terms we're talking about. It's not like “This is a set term. This is what this is. The end.” —right?

SHANNON:
Oh, for sure. These things change over time. There's a lot of delay. So there are a lot of landscaping plants, for instance, that weren't a problem for decades. Something changed. Now it's a problem. We don't know exactly what triggers the change between a non-native that's just kind of, you know, being a cool landscape plant and transitioning to an invasive species across the Southeast.

But it happens. Something changes that population and/or the way that it interacts with our natural areas. So this is a spectrum, you know, native to non-native to established to invasive. And species will change where they are on that spectrum over time and as we and the environment that they exist in changes.

LARA:
Yeah. And I know the University of Florida, I'm sure many other universities as well, are constantly doing tons of research on species to assess kind of their invasiveness, if you will. And I know Shannon and I will mention some resources and links, some of those in the show notes to help you figure that out.

SHANNON:
Yeah, that is an important point, Lara. I don't know if you realize the important point you just made, (LAUGHS) but you made a very important point. Because they change there's a misconception, I feel like with a lot of people I talk to, especially when we're talking about invasive plants that you can purchase, they’re very confused why it isn't illegal and…

LARA:
Oh, yeah, I get that all the time.

 

 

 

SHANNON:
Yeah. And it's a natural thing. Like, well, “If this is going to hurt the environment and this is bad for people, why can I still buy this? Why is this invasive species for sale at your local garden center?” And I mean, yeah, I hate to just put it this way, but when we think about how slow government is, it's especially slow here because the difference between an invasive species and what's known as a “prohibited species” or a “noxious species” depending on what jurisdiction you're in, is really time, government and political will. 

And so for a long time, people were able to purchase things like Chinese tallow at the garden center. That was a very popular landscaping tree. It is now known to be an invasive species, and it was called an invasive species for almost 10 or 12 years before it made it to any prohibited plant list at a legal level. And so now you're not allowed to grow, transport or sell Chinese tallow, but it's already in the environment. 

So that's an ongoing issue. And that's why Lara mentioned we're going to give you resources so you can look these things up. Just because they're invasive doesn't mean that everyone knows that it's an invasive plant.

LARA:
Yeah, that's definitely… I probably get the most complaints about that when I do invasive species education. It’s like, “Why can I buy this at the store?!” And again, we'll talk about that when we wrap up with our call to action. 

But I wanted to touch on one last point that we actually, we use this term a lot in our alligator episode, which is this idea of being a nuisance, which I think we often associate with, you know, animal species. So I just figured that'd be a good example to showcase.  But let's just kind of talk about that terminology real quick before we wrap it up.

SHANNON:
Yeah. So “nuisance” has a legal definition in Florida, and that's important to know. So when we're talking about a nuisance, what we're usually talking about is an individual or a group of individuals that are causing some sort of management concern. Perhaps they're causing a threat to a neighborhood or they've exhibited aggressive behavior or something to that effect. 

That is the intention of the word “nuisance” when we're talking about Florida Fish and Wildlife legal definition of the word “nuisance.” So alligators are not a nuisance, but that particular alligator over there that is approaching me and looks like it wants to eat my hand, that is a nuisance alligator. 

Another one that people can definitely relate to:  raccoons. Raccoons are native to Florida. They're a fantastic species.  City raccoons— whole different animal. (LAUGHTER)  They are so smart, they can get into any garbage can. I'm just like that raccoon that keeps breaking into your garbage can, that’s a nuisance animal. Raccoons as a whole are not a nuisance species, though.

LARA:
That's good. Yeah. And I think it is helpful to kind of state that it's really individually defined. It's not that raccoons as a whole are a nuisance. While some people might think that, that's not necessarily the case. Now, before we transition to call to action, is there a take-home message or maybe a term that I skipped or forgot that you wanted to go over or clarify?


SHANNON:
Yeah, there's one thing I want to touch on. So if you've stuck with us this long ... thank you. (LAUGHTER) We know talking about vocabulary can be kind of dry. But the whole point of this is just so that we can all communicate better, right?  So you're going to hear Lara and I using these terms a lot over many episodes. And if you continue to listen to it, which we hope you do and we hope you're interested, we just wanted to give a good baseline for what we mean when we use these words.

And we'll try to remember to define them in some way when we're going through those episodes. But taking this beyond the podcast, using the correct terminology or the right vocabulary when you're talking to your neighbors, or when you're talking to your local extension office will really help communication overall just be better around these species. And that's why we thought this was an important thing today.

LARA:
Yeah, Shannon.  I think that's a great segway to our call to action. We alluded to this before, but we really encourage you to do your homework, do your research before you're purchasing any new plant or really exotic pet species before you go out and buy it. So at Extension we highly recommend this resource. We just call it the IFAS (pronounced eye-fuss) Assessment and we will link that in our show notes as well.

But you can just type in either the common name— if you love Latin, you can type in the scientific name— and it will basically break down and let you know if this is a species that you should not be purchasing at the store or maybe if research is ongoing. So there's tons of information there for you to look at.

SHANNON:
Yeah. And on that, IFAS Assessment, if you scroll down after you find your species, it will specify if it's invasive or a caution species for your region in Florida. So it’s separated by South, Central and North Florida. And a lot of species that are problematic in South Florida aren't a problem at all in North Florida. Another thing I want to bring up is Lara mentioned exotic animals. Again, exotic can mean fancy or pretty. 

Exotic animals or non-native species that you might want to buy as a pet, it's just important to remember, just like a dog or a cat they're with you for their entire life. Snakes live a very long time. If you didn't know that, they live a very long time and they get very large And so before you purchase an exotic snake as a pet, just do your homework. Make sure it's something that you are okay owning when it is 12 feet long.
That's a big animal. We can't just turn these things loose. That's besides the fact that it's illegal. You're really setting that animal up for a horrible death most of the time if you release it into the wild. So if you are in that situation or if you know someone else who is in that situation, there are organized exotic pet amnesty days year-round all across the state where you can surrender a pet that you can no longer care for. And they will find a suitable reputable owner for that exotic animal, whatever it is.

LARA:
Perfect. Yeah. Shannon and I are using the term exotic here because that's really typically what we see when associated with pets. It's an exotic pet store. So just to clarify that.

SHANNON:
Yeah.

LARA:
Then another thing, if in your research on doing plants or just in general, you come to discover that the plants that are in your very yard are invasive, we encourage you to remove them.

SHANNON:
Yes. And you might be thinking, “What is it matter that I have a little bit of a Brazilian pepper in my yard? It's in my yard. It's not hurting anyone.” Birds love to eat Brazilian pepper seeds and then fly off to some beautiful natural area. And, oh, what's the delicate way to put this, Lara?  (LAUGHTER) Deposit those seeds back into nature.
They just come out the other end. 

So same thing with camphor tree and other invasive species. Just because it's in your yard does not mean that natural areas are safe. So if you're able to remove them and replant them with a native or a Florida-friendly species, even if it's non-native, that would be a wonderful thing to do as a result of this podcast or just the information you learn about invasive species.

LARA:
Yeah, and I know in some of our past episodes like our Cuban tree frog episode, too, for on the animal side of invasive species, there's lots of ways that you can report sightings of invasive species that’s super helpful to those that are out there managing these species.  And perhaps discovering these, you know, range changes. You know maybe Shannon and I’ve seen an iguana up in our area, that's something that people need to know. So you reporting those things are super helpful.

 

 


SHANNON:
Yes. Especially if it's a new non-native species in your area. So like Lara said with iguanas, they are showing up in my county. And I am not thrilled about it, but I see the pictures and I get the reports. And if everyone would just keep reporting them because they're not established here yet. And we'd like to keep it that way.

So report your wildlife sightings if it's an invasive species or even if it's just something that's like, hey, that's super weird and it's not supposed to be here. Someone reported a brown basilisk lizard the other day here in Polk County, and I was like, “Oh, that’s…Wow, that’s not supposed to be here!” (LAUGHS) And the only reason I saw that was because they sent it to me and said, “Hey, I saw this cool lizard.  What is it?” Well, got their permission and reported it to FWC.

LARA:
Yeah. Yeah, and that’s a great example, and that person could be you. So, yeah, that's pretty much it. And then, of course, anything that you guys can do to help Shannon and I spread the word about using the right terms, helping to report invasive species, sharing this episode is a great way to do that. We always stress that.

And then, of course, using the right terms yourself is going to be helpful. So we thank you guys so much for tuning in to today's episode. We hope you learned a little bit about the proper terminology for native and non-native species, and we look forward to seeing you guys next episode.

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