Invasive species are organisms that are not native to a specific location and can potentially cause harm to their new community. These organisms are not harmful simply because of what species they are, instead they are harmful when they enter foreign habitats and disrupt the flow of the ecosystem. Invasive species are often introduced by humans. Healthy ecosystems maintain balance through limiting factors such as the environment, climate, food availability, and the absence and or presence of predators. A minor change to an ecosystem may result in a drastic change and can disrupt balance amongst the species in the community. In this study, we ask the question: How do invasive species impact the biodiversity in an ecosystem? We hypothesize that the arthropod biodiversity will be negatively affected by the introduction of an invasive arthropod species. Our research will use data sets that have been collected over seventeen years documenting the presence of different arthropods in six different locations. We expect to observe a negative correlation between invasive species and native species. Ultimately this can result in a disruption of the balance of the ecosystem.
