Rambunctious Garden Chap 6 & 7

In chapters 6 and 7 of Marris’ “Rambunctious Garden,” the author focuses on finding a plausible solution to “invasive species” and the conservation of “novel ecosystems.” Invasive species are typically viewed as detrimental and harmful to the ecosystems they are introduced too; such as the case of the flightless wren, zebra muscles, and the Asian tiger mosquito. All of these species have harmed their respective un-natural ecosystems, thus rendering them “invasive” or “exotic.” Marris firmly believes that humans should not interfere or fight invasive species, because the underlying problem rests with humans, not the animals. Although Marris does provide several examples in Chapter 6 of the harm that invasive species can cause, Marris herself is somewhat of a proponent of invasive species. Contemporary conservationists may call her crazy; however, Marris identifies several benefits that come along with invasive species, and the benefits seem to outweigh the risks. As suggested by the title and Marris, humans should embrace invasive species. Rather than the generic view of invasive species as harmful, many are, according to Marris, “well behaved” and “innocuous.” In various cases, invasive species might actually end up furthering the state of the ecosystem. Marris points out that invasive species increase biodiversity and sometimes, the invasive species may benefit from that specific ecosystem because they are well-suited to live in that environment. Marris goes on to criticize the overuse of a variety of resources in order to combat invasive species because of the cost, but mostly for their ineffectiveness.
Chapter 7 focuses largely on the concept of “novel ecosystems.” Marris cites two ecologists, Lugo and Mascaro, as two other supporters of this concept. The concept of a novel ecosystem stems from the idea that introduced and native species can co-exist and flourish. Despite a shroud of criticism and skepticism surrounding this idea, Marris sees it as the future of conservationism. I certainly won’t be so quick to judge as Marris is, because she seems to brush off a lot of criticism regarding invasive species. I do believe that there is a reason for certain species being referred to as “invasive.” If every ecosystem benefited from “invasive” species, then they would not be invasive. When any new species is introduced into a new ecosystem, it must have some detrimental effect on the natural environment because those species are not in their natural environment.