Jarred Walker – Staff Writer
The definition of “invasive” means something that tends to spread prolifically and undesirably or harmfully.
When most people hear the words “invasive species,” they immediately think of animals. Although there a large amount of those, there are also a lot of invasive plant and insect species as well.
Kenneth Nusbaum — science professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Stetson University with over 30 years of experience — gave a March 19 lecture to over a 100 audience members as part of the WISE Program at the Advanced Technology College. The hour-long discussion detailed a variety of invasive animal, plant and insect species that have been doing a lot of harm to Florida and the United States as a whole. The problem has been running rampant over the last several decades. He detailed how we got the problem and how to fix it.
“Invasive species can cause environmental, economic or human harm. A main reason why this happens is globalization. People are crawling all over the face of the planet and bringing animal and plant ‘souvenirs’ from country to country or state to state,” he said.
“Americans are guilty of it more than any other country. There are some invasive species that we may be able to contain as time goes by, such as the lionfish, because we can eat them. But then there are other species, such as the python, which are multiplying at too rapid a rate and killing important species such as rodents, among others, on a constant basis.”
Some of the facts and statistics he shared shocked the crowd, which was captivated from start to finish. After the presentation, a formal question and answer session took place and the questions were endless for the intrigued WISE members. After it concluded, the audience was treated to cookies and coffee before adjourning.
The presentation hit home for some such as John Fawcett. In his eighth year as a WISE Advisory Board Member, he described how the lecture related to him.
“The presentation was outstanding. I’m involved with wood production of all types and have been my entire life. These invasive species have affected my life in a dramatic way. Back in the day, I was working with an Irish athlete to promote hurling sticks made from ash trees. The ash is being attacked by a beetle called an emerald ash borer. We don’t have those ash tree properties anymore, which is extremely unfortunate.”
WISE stands for Wisdom In Senior Education explained Suzette Cameron, director of alumni engagement and special events, who also oversees the lecture program.
“It is 10 years old and designed for people 50 and older. Each semester, we look into various topics based on the desires of the board and the members in the membership. We do health, art, history, aviation and plants topics. I have been a part of the program for the last four years. We have a membership of about 170 people. It’s not only educational, but it also provides a social platform for people to be able to visit and have a little time together.”
For information on programs and membership, go to https://daytonastate.edu/wise/.