NEETZoologyOrganisms and Populations
Why can exotic species become invasive?
Options
- AThey have natural predators in the new area
- BThey adapt quickly to new environments
- CThey spread fast due to the lack of natural predators
- DThey improve the local biodiversity
Correct answer
C. They spread fast due to the lack of natural predators
Step-by-step solution
Although animals eating plants are categorized separately as herbivores, they are, in a broad ecological context, not very different from predators. Besides acting as ‘conduits’ for energy transfer across trophic levels, predators play other important roles. They keep prey populations under control. But for predators, prey species could achieve very high population densities and cause ecosystem instability. When certain exotic species are introduced into a geographical area, they become invasive and start spreading