Editing Invasive species (section)

==Favorable effects==
The entomologist [[Chris D. Thomas]] argues that most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species<ref>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Chris |author-link=Chris D. Thomas |title=Inheritors of the Earth: How Nature Is Thriving in an Age of Extinction |publisher=[[PublicAffairs]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-1610397278 |pages=}}</ref> but this is a minority opinion. The [[scientific community]] ubiquitously considers their effects on [[biodiversity]] to be negative.<ref name="doubtingthomas">{{cite journal |last=Halley |first=John |date=2019 |title=Doubting Thomas and the Love of Invasive Species |department=Book Review |journal=[[Conservation Biology (journal)|Conservation Biology]] |volume=33 |issue=6 |pages=1451–1453 |bibcode=2019ConBi..33.1451H |doi=10.1111/cobi.13413 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Others point out that that conservation and restoration projects can have fascist principles behind them.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jr |first=Tom Zeller |date=2017-05-30 |title=The Fascist History of De-Extinction |url=https://undark.org/2017/05/30/nazis-aurochs-deextinction-mammoth/ |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=Undark Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> Some, like environmental journalist Fred Pearce, take a more philosophical stance on certain conservation paths, claiming that those "who want to cosset nature like a delicate flower, to protect it from the threat of alien species, are the ethnic cleansers of nature, neutralizing the forces that they should be promoting."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pearce |first=Fred |title=The New Wild: Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature's Salvation |publisher=Beacon Press |year=2015 |isbn=9780807033685}}</ref> Emma Marris points out that, the "only way to really stop life from changing is to kill it." <ref>{{Cite book |last=Marris |first=Emma |title=Wild souls: freedom and flourishing in the non-human world |date=2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-63557-494-4 |location=New York London Oxford New Delhi Sydney}}</ref> [[Indigenous peoples|Indigenous communities]] have often incorporated introduced species, such as the [[Banana|banana tree]] to the [[Americas]], into their [[Traditional diet|traditional diets]] and kinships.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marris |first=Emma |title=Wild souls: freedom and flourishing in the non-human world |date=2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-63557-494-4 |location=New York London Oxford New Delhi Sydney}}</ref> 

Some invasive species can provide a suitable habitat or food source for other organisms. In areas where a native has become extinct or reached a point that it cannot be restored, non-native species can fill their role. For instance, in the US, the endangered [[Willow flycatcher|southwestern willow flycatcher]] mainly nests in the non-native [[Tamarix|tamarisk]].<ref name="potential" /> 
The introduced [[Prosopis juliflora|mesquite]] is an aggressive invasive species in India, but is the preferred nesting site of native waterbirds in small cities like [[Udaipur]] in Rajasthan.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mehta |first1=Kanishka |last2=Koli |first2=Vijay K. |last3=Kittur |first3=Swati |last4=Sundar |first4=K. S. Gopi |title=Can you nest where you roost? Waterbirds use different sites but similar cues to locate roosting and breeding sites in a small Indian city |journal=Urban Ecosystems |date=21 February 2024 |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=1279–1290 |doi=10.1007/s11252-023-01454-5 |bibcode=2024UrbEc..27.1279M |s2cid=267973120 }}</ref> Similarly, [[Ridgway's rail]] has adapted to the invasive hybrid of ''[[Spartina alterniflora]]'' and ''[[Spartina foliosa]]'', which offers better cover and nesting habitat.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://spartina.org/project_documents/revegetation_program/CLRA%20Report%202012.pdf |title=Clapper Rail Surveys for the San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project |last=McBroom |first=Jen |date=December 2012 |publisher=State Coastal Conservancy |location=Oakland, California |access-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305070303/http://spartina.org/project_documents/revegetation_program/CLRA%20Report%202012.pdf |archive-date=5 March 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In [[Australia]], saltwater crocodiles, which had become endangered, have recovered by feeding on introduced [[feral pig]]s.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ham |first1=Anthony |title=Pigs to the Rescue: An Invasive Species Helped Save Australia's Crocodiles |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/15/science/invasive-species-pigs-crocodiles.html |work=The New York Times |date=15 August 2022 }}</ref>

Non-native species can act as catalysts for restoration, increasing the [[heterogeneity]] and biodiversity in an ecosystem. This can create microclimates in sparse and eroded ecosystems, promoting the growth and reestablishment of native species. For example, in Kenya, [[guava]] trees in farmland are attractive to many fruit-eating birds, which drop seeds from rainforest trees as much as {{cvt|2|km}} away beneath the guavas, encouraging forest regeneration.<ref>Thompson, Ken. Where Do Camels Belong? (p. 154). Greystone Books. Kindle Edition.</ref>

Non-native species can provide ecosystem services, functioning as [[biocontrol]] agents to limit the effects of invasive agricultural pests.<ref name=potential>{{cite journal |last1=Schlaepfer |first1=Martin A. |last2=Sax |first2=Dov F. |last3=Olden |first3=Julian D. |title=The Potential Conservation Value of Non-Native Species: Conservation Value of Non-Native Species |journal=Conservation Biology |date=June 2011 |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=428–437 |doi=10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01646.x |pmid=21342267 |s2cid=2947682 }}</ref> [[Depletion of oysters in the Chesapeake Bay|Asian oysters]], for example, filter [[water pollutants]] better than native oysters in [[Chesapeake Bay]].<ref>Pelton, Tom (May 26, 2006) ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]''.</ref> Some species have invaded an area so long ago that they are considered to have [[Naturalisation (biology)|naturalised]] there. For example, the bee ''[[Lasioglossum leucozonium]]'', shown by population genetic analysis to be an invasive species in North America,<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Successful Biological Invasion despite a Severe Genetic Load |journal=[[PLOS ONE]]|date=September 12, 2007 |pmc=1964518 |pmid=17848999 |volume=2 |issue=9 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0000868 |first1=Amro |last1=Zayed |first2=Șerban A. |last2=Constantin |first3=Laurence |last3=Packer |pages=e868 |bibcode=2007PLoSO...2..868Z |doi-access=free}}</ref> has become an important pollinator of caneberry (''[[Rubus]]'' spp.) as well as [[Cucurbitaceae|cucurbit]], [[apple trees]], and [[blueberry]] bushes.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Adamson |first=Nancy Lee |title=An Assessment of Non-Apis Bees as Fruit and Vegetable Crop Pollinators in Southwest Virginia |date=3 February 2011 |degree=Doctor of Philosophy in Entomology |publisher=Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University |url=http://www.step-project.net/NPDOCS/Adamson_NL_D_2011.pdf |place=Blacksburg, Virginia |access-date=November 5, 2015 |archive-date=November 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120230411/http://www.step-project.net/NPDOCS/Adamson_NL_D_2011.pdf }}</ref> In the US, the endangered [[Euphydryas editha taylori|Taylor's checkerspot]] butterfly has come to rely on invasive [[ribwort plantain]] as the food plant for its caterpillars.<ref>Thomas, Chris D.. Inheritors of the Earth (p. 148). PublicAffairs. Kindle Edition.</ref>

Some invasions offer potential commercial benefits. For instance, [[silver carp]] and [[common carp]] can be harvested for human food and exported to markets already familiar with the product, or processed into [[pet food]]s, or [[mink]] feed. [[Water hyacinth]] can be turned into fuel by [[methane digesters]],<ref name=wolv>{{cite journal|doi=10.1007/BF02858689|title=Energy from vascular plant wastewater treatment systems|journal=[[Economic Botany]]|volume=35|issue=2|pages=224–232 |year=1981 |last1=Wolverton |first1=B. C.|last2=McDonald|first2=Rebecca C.|bibcode=1981EcBot..35..224W |s2cid=24217507}}. Cited in Duke, J. (1983) [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html ''Handbook of Energy Crops''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212071515/http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html |date=February 12, 2013 }}. Purdue University, Center for New Crops & Plants Products</ref> and other invasive plants can be harvested and utilized as a source of [[bioenergy]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Biomass of invasive plant species as a potential feedstock for bioenergy production |first1=Koenraad |last1=Van Meerbeek |first2=Lise |last2=Appels |first3=Raf |last3=Dewil|first4=Annelies|last4=Calmeyn|first5=Pieter|last5=Lemmens |first6=Bart |last6=Muys |first7=Martin |last7=Hermy |date=May 1, 2015 |journal=[[Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining]] |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=273–282 |doi=10.1002/bbb.1539 |s2cid=83918875 }}</ref>