Invasive and Timeless

This article isn’t specifically and directly only about the Canidae family, but it is fascinating. The author discusses species classifications in terms of native versus invasive species, and attempts to answer the difficult question “when is an invasive species no longer considered invasive?” If the species has been there long enough to evolve with the environment, but it wasn’t originally from the area, is is still invasive? One of the examples the author uses is the Australian dingo. It arrived in Australia roughly 4,000 years ago, and since then not only has the dingo itself become a distinct species from its nearest relative, but prey species in the area have also evolved avoidance mechanisms to deal with the new predator. After all this time and evolution, is it still considered invasive?

I cannot answer the question, and the author doesn’t pretend they can either. They do explore it, and that’s interesting enough that I thought it would be worth sharing. Enjoy!


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