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Logging has long been known to disrupt the environment of native species that happen to live in the rainforest, but now it has been revealed that logging may help to create favorable habitats for invasive species. The black rat is an invasive species that was sent all around the world by European explorers in the 1600s. These rats have brought with them diseases that infect native mammals. Though rats are nearly everywhere, they tend to avoid dense forests, for in these forests are trees that take up most of the sunlight and do not provide enough of it for underbrush to grow for the rats. Also, the piles of leaf litter on the ground make rats especially susceptible to predators that are keen in their auditory senses. Logging leads to more overgrowth that may shield the rats. Also, a logged forest has fallen wood that can be the perfect grounds for bugs to thrive in; being that rats like to eat bugs, this works out in their favor. I believe this issue is of particular importance because these invading rats may outcompete native mammals and disrupt the natural order of things in the rainforest. Small mammals are important players in the maintenance of rainforests, being spreaders of plants seeds and being a food source for larger animals. Without such an ecological niche being filled, or being half-filled by a rat, the rainforest may have a hard time thriving. This is just one reminder of the danger of introducing nonnative, invasive species into delicate ecosystems. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160201220122.htm
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April 2016
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