A new report warns that Australia’s native wildlife could see extremely unfortunate effects from nonnative plants and animals.
Experts at the national science agency, the CSIRO, are predicting much of the country’s native plants and animals are in danger. They believe they could disappear by 2050 unless immediate action is taken.
Nonnative species have invaded(侵略)Australia and threaten to overrun(侵占)native plants and animals. Introduced species are endangering more than 80 percent of Australia’s threatened species.
Andy Sheppard, the CSIRO’s research director, said Australia’s colonization(殖民)by the British more than 200 years ago has left harmful environmental effects. He added that there were groups set up to introduce plants and animals by design so the Europeans felt more at home. Australia just like New Zealand has suffered as a result. “Australia unfortunately has the worst record internationally for mammalian(哺乳动物)disappearance,” he said and noted that this has much to do with the activities of introduced cats and foxes.
The report estimated(估计)the cost of the damage caused by invasive species in Australia at about $18 billion each year and growing. The study said that immediate action was needed to stop the spread of invasive species and protect Australia’s “irreplaceable native animals and plants”.
Traditionally, chemical and biological controls have been used to manage wild pest populations.
There are debates about these methods and some supporters of animals are against them as inhumane.
Scientists in Australia are working on genetic pest control methods. Testing is under way on small laboratory animals, but a so-called “working system” could be up to five years away. One possible biocontrol(生物防治)includes limiting their ability to reproduce.
【小题1】What are threatened in Australia because of the introduced species now?| A．Local people. | B．Animals’ habitats. |
| C．Native animals and plants. | D．Unique mammalian. |
| A．Because Europeans brought them to Australia. | B．Because Australians love European wildlife. |
| C．Because of the activities of cats and foxes. | D．Because of the disappearance of mammalian. |
| A．Scientists have limited the populations of invasive species successfully. |
| B．Those traditional measures have no effect on introduced species at all. |
| C．Some people don’t consider the ways to deal with invasive species right. |
| D．Genetic methods have proven perfect in controlling invasive species. |
| A．Danger from Nonnative Wildlife in Australia | B．Australian Native Wildlife in Great Danger |
| C．New Ways to Control Nonnative Wildlife | D．The New finding by Scientists in Australia |
