It's time to end war on the aliens
By Tara Womersley in the Scotsman 26 th April 2002
SCOTTISH conservationists should stop waging war on so-called "alien" species - because many are no more harmful than native plants and wildlife, an expert said yesterday.
Dr Charles Warren, a geographer at the University of St Andrews, believes we are discriminating against a number of species simply because they were introduced by humans.
And he adds that many of our "aliens", including the rhododendron and the Norway spruce - the Christmas tree - were thriving on our shores more than 100,000 years ago but were wiped out by the most recent glaciation.
He said: "All species were aliens once in the sense that there was a time when they first arrived. Many of todayÕs alien species migrated after the last but one glaciation but were wiped out by the next glaciation and did not make it again."
Some "aliens", such as rabbits, have been here for so long they now play an important cological role, he added.
Dr Warren wants a more discerning approach towards non-native plants and wildlife, targeted according to the amount of damage they cause.
He said: "While some alien species are indeed harmful, others are both beneficial and popular with the public. For example, beech woodlands with their carpets of spring bluebells are loved by many but do not technically belong here."
Alien species include the grey squirrel, American mink, sika deer, pheasants, the English elm and giant hogweed.
Dr Warren views the rhododendron as generally harmless but he agrees it should be eradicated from the Hebridean isle of Colonsay, where its rapid growth is threatening other plant life. He said mink and hedgehogs, which threaten ground-nesting birds in the Hebrides, and the sika deer, which is hybridising with red deer, should also be controlled.
A spokesman for Scottish Natural Heritage said: "When it comes to alien species, it depends how far back you go. The rhododendron was introduced by Victorian travellers less than 200 years ago but we are not going back to the days of elks and bears. We have to look at modern bio-diversity and what we can do to maintain what we have got and bring back some of what (is) lost."
He said rabbits burrow in machair (a very rare habitat consisting of flat sandy soil), accelerating coastal erosion.
© Scotsman, 26 th April 2002
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