In chapter six of the ‘Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post Wild World,” Marris focuses her attention on invasive, otherwise known as exotic, species. She argues that even though there is a general preconceived notion that they are harmful to the environments they are introduced into, this may not always be the case. One preconception about invasive species is that they are devastating to the existing population and kill out many of the species through predation and competition. She introduces certain reasons as to why conservationists focus so much time, energy and money in order to battle this problem. However, she goes on to argue on behalf of invasive species and points out that in most cases the exotic species don’t turn out to have negative effects on the existing population of that ecosystem, in fact in many cases they may be beneficial to the ecosystem. She mentions, “While some exotic species are a huge problem, the vast majority are not.” (98) Marris attempts to convince the reader that just because an exotic species is not native to a certain environment, does not mean that it is necessarily harmful to that ecosystem. The change may in fact be beneficial to both the ecosystem and the species and may promote greater sustainability in the ecosystem, for instance it may increase the biodiversity of the ecosystem. Pertaining this issue I couldn’t agree more with Marris. I believe that this is another way that conservationists look to restore ecosystems to their natural conditions. Just because these species do not belong in this specific environment doesn’t mean that this change may be beneficial to all of the parties involved.
In chapter seven of her book, Marris focuses on Novel Ecosystems, which are man-made, however they are not closely maintained by humans. In novel ecosystems humans introduces and invasive or exotic species into certain environments and these species are just left on their own to maintain themselves. In many cases, these ecosystems have been found to be performing well on their own and in some instances outperforming natural ecosystems. In her book she mentions, “These new systems likely do spell homogenization and extinction, in some places. But they can also mean ecosystem services, increased diversity, and brand-new species.” (122) She mentions that even though it may lead to the extinction of a certain species it may also have many positive effects and may bring about a strong, thriving and self-sustainable ecosystem. Once again Marris points out that the misconceptions that exotic species destroy ecosystems is in actuality false. In many cases they may be harmless or even beneficial to their new environments. In any event, before introducing new species into non-native ecosystems one must conduct research and predict the possible outcomes and consequences that may occur.
