Behavioral Ecology Symposium ’94: Frank & McCoy Intro. 1 INTRODUCTION TO INSECT BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY : THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE BEAUTIFUL: NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN FLORIDA INVASIVE ADVENTIVE INSECTS AND OTHER ORGANISMS IN FLORIDA. J. H. FRANK1 AND E. D. MCCOY2 1Entomology & Nematology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0620 2Biology Department and Center for Urban Ecology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620-5150 ABSTRACT An excessive proportion of adventive (= “non-indigenous”) species in a community has been called “biological pollution.” Proportions of adventive species of fishes, am- phibia, reptiles, birds and mammals in southern Florida range from 16% to more than 42%. In Florida as a whole, the proportion of adventive plants is about 26%, but of in- sects is only about 8%. Almost all of the vertebrates were introduced as captive pets, but escaped or were released into the wild, and established breeding populations; few arrived as immigrants (= “of their own volition”). Almost all of the plants also were in- troduced, a few arrived as immigrants (as contaminants of shipments of seeds or other cargoes). In contrast, only 42 insect species (0.3%) were introduced (all for bio- logical control of pests, including weeds). The remainder (about 946 species, or 7.6%) arrived as undocumented immigrants, some of them as fly-ins, but many as contami- nants of cargoes. Most of the major insect pests of agriculture, horticulture, human- made structures, and the environment, arrived as hitchhikers (contaminants of, and stowaways in, cargoes, especially cargoes of plants). No adventive insect species caus- ing problems in Florida was introduced (deliberately) as far as is known. The cause of most of the so-called biological pollution is the public’s demand for “pet” animals and “ornamental” plants of foreign origin, the public’s environmental ir- responsibility in handling these organisms, the dealers’ willingness to supply these organisms for cash, and governments’ unwillingness to stem the flow of a lucrative commerce. The cause of almost all of the remaining part is flight, walking, swimming, and rafting from adjoining states and from nearby countries in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. The introduction of specialized insect biological control agents, although it contributes to biological pollution, appears to be an environmentally- sound solution to the much greater biological pollution caused by immigrant insects and introduced plants in Florida. Greater concern for insects as living things, or as in- tegral parts of nature, coupled with increased understanding of how problem insects get into Florida, may foster a more even-handed approach to the reduction of biologi- cal pollution. Key Words: Adventive species, biological pollution, immigrant species, insects and commerce, introduced species. RESUMEN Una proporción excesiva de especies foráneas (=no indígenas) en una comunidad ha sido denominada “polución biológica”. Las proporciones de especies foráneas de pe- ces, anfibios, reptiles, aves, y mamíferos en el sur de la Florida varían del 16 al 42%. En la Florida en su totalidad, la proporción de plantas foráneas es de alrededor del This article is from Florida Entomologist Online, Vol. 78, No. 1 (1995). FEO is available from the Florida Center for Library Automation gopher (sally.fcla.ufl.edu) and is identical to Florida Entomologist (An International Journal for the Americas). FEO is prepared by E. O. Painter Printing Co., P.O. Box 877, DeLeon Springs, FL. 32130. 2 Florida Entomologist 78(1) March, 1995 26%, mientras que la de insectos es de sólo el 8%. Casi todos los vertebrados han sido introducidos como animales de compañía, los cuales escaparon o fueron soltados en espacios naturales y se establecieron como poblaciones reproductivamente viables. Muy pocas especies llegaron como inmigrantes (= “por su propia voluntad”). Casi to- das las plantas han sido introducidas, pero llegaron como inmigrantes o como conta- minantes en importaciones de semillas. Sin embargo, sólo 42 especies de insectos (0.3%) han sido introducidos y todos como control biológico de plagas, incluyendo ma- las hierbas. El resto (aproximadamente 946 especies, ó 7.6%) llegó como inmigrantes desconocidos, algunos de ellos volando y muchos como contaminantes en cargamen- tos. La mayoría de los insectos perjudiciales para la agricultura, horticultura, cons- trucciones humanas y el medio ambiente llegaron como “polizones” (contaminantes de, almacenados en, cargamentos, especialmente cargamentos de plantas). Parece ser que ningún insecto foráneo que cause problemas en la Florida fue introducido (delibe- radamente). La causa mayor de la llamada polución biológica es la demanda del público de ani- males de compañía y plantas ornamentales de origen extranjero, la irresponsabilidad del público manejando estos organismos, la avidez de los comerciantes en proporcio- nar dichos organismos a cambio de dinero y la reticencia de los gobiernos en cortar la avalancha de negocios lucrativos. Las causas del resto de la polución biológica estan fundamentadas casi en su totalidad en el desplazamiento en vuelo, por vía terrestre, a nado y en estructuras a la deriva desde los países vecinos caribeños, México, y Cen- tro América. La introducción de insectos especializados en el control de plagas, aun- que contribuya a la polución biológica, parece ser una solución medioambiental de peso al problema más grave de la polución biológica producida por los insectos y plan- tas llegados a la Florida como inmigrantes. Una preocupación mayor por los insectos, como entidades vivas, o como partes integrales de la naturaleza, emparejada con un incremento en el conocimiento sobre cómo los insectos problemáticos entran a la Flo- rida, puede favorecer una estrategia más equilibrada para la reducción de la polución biológica. Florida’s flora and fauna are threatened by a burgeoning human population, ap- proaching 14 million, with a growth rate triple that of the USA during the last decade. By the year 2020, this population could grow to 23 million. The Everglades are said to be dying due to water shortage and pollution. Florida Bay, at the tip of the penin- sula, is threatened by enormous algal blooms said to be due to pollution from agricul- tural lands, and more than 40,000 ha of seagrasses and sponges are dead. Coral reefs are said to be dying from pollution and disturbance. Of 25 shrimp boats operating from Marathon in the early 1970s, there now are none. In the Tampa Bay area, well- fields have been over-pumped, drying up thousands of hectares of wetlands. In central Florida, lakes are said to be polluted with pesticides, causing, for example, a dramatic drop in the largemouth bass population and a 90% decline in the alligator population of Lake Apopka. On the east coast, from Fernandina Beach in the north to Miami Beach in the south, coastal erosion is said to be fueled by overpopulation: about $450 million have been spent pumping sand onto beaches since 1965 to replace the tons eroded by storms. Pollution in the Gulf of Mexico has made bacterial infection from eating raw oysters a frequent health risk. The conch population in the Caribbean has declined by 90% in the past 20 years, and edible marine fish populations on the east coast mirror this decline. Millions of hectares of Florida no longer even remotely resemble a pristine state. They are now urban landscapes with buildings and roads and ornamental plants, or Behavioral Ecology Symposium ’94: Frank & McCoy Intro. 3 agricultural landscapes modified to support the human population, or salt marshes modified to suppress their natural mosquito populations so that humans will not be bitten. All of these changes have supplanted the natural plant and animal popula- tions. All major agricultural crops, farm animals, and popular pet animals in Florida, from citrus to corn to cattle to cats, are introduced. Of all plants of foreign origin that are imported into the USA, 85% arrive through Miami International Airport. Miami also is the busiest US port for fish and wildlife. The root cause of what has been termed the “biological pollution” (McKnight 1993) of Florida is the public’s desire for animals and plants of foreign origin, the public’s environmental irresponsibility, deal- ers’ ability to earn money by satisfying this desire, and governments’ unwillingness to intervene substantially in this profitable commercial activity (Belleville 1994). In southern Florida, especially, untrammeled whims of humans have introduced so many species of non-farm animals (mainly as “pets”) that the native fauna is greatly diluted. Running wild in Dade and Broward Counties have been piranhas, walking catfish, blue tilapia (“introduced from Africa in 1961 by officials of the Game and Freshwater Fish Commission”), electric eels, little barbed Amazonian catfish that swim up [human] urinary tracts, and other fish (“23 exotic fish now breeding in the wild”), Cuban anoles, iguanas, Asian water monitors, caimans, boa constrictors, py- thons, mambas (“people want the newest animals as pets”), red-whiskered bulbuls, monk parakeets, howler monkeys, gibbons, green African savannah monkeys, crab- eating macaques, and a herd of 300 buffalo (Belleville 1994). Nine years ago, the fauna of southern Florida included the following percentages of species introduced al- most entirely by the pet trade: fishes (16%), amphibians (22%), reptiles (42%), mam- mals (23%) (Ewel 1986). The percentage of birds is obscured under a category called “free-flying exotics” but, with 16-17 species of parrots and many other species estab- lished, it may exceed the percentage of any of the other classes. Recent estimates com- piled for all of Florida (US Congress 1993) suggest the percentages of established adventive vertebrate species exceed 20% for most groups. Many such “pet” animals escaped from their owners, or were released deliberately, into the wild. Animals shipped from Florida also have caused problems. For example, red-eared turtles are shipped to France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany; over 500,000 individuals are shipped to France alone per year.