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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. Frank, Earl D. Mccoy

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

An excessive proportion of adventive (=“non-indigenous”) species in a community has been called “biological pollution.” Proportions of adventive species of fishes, amphibia, 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 insects 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 introduced, a few arrived as immigrants …