A total of eighteen biological control agents have been studied since the 1960s. One way to manage invading non-native plants in Florida's aquatic systems is to use biological control agents such as insects, fish and pathogens.īiological control agents are used to decrease the invasive plants' competitive advantages over native plants, and to weaken the invading population by increasing leaf mortality, decreasing plant size, reducing flower and seed production, and/or limiting population expansion.įor more than fifty years, non-native biological control agents have been deliberately introduced or have arrived from elsewhere on their own to combat non-native invading plant populations in Florida. The introduced plant may replace native species, clog waterways, degrade water quality, and impede recreation and navigation. As a result, the non-native plant often flourishes and out-competes Florida's naturally controlled native plants. When a non-native plant is introduced into a Florida habitat, it may have a competitive advantage over native plant populations because the natural factors that regulated the introduced plant in its native range may not exist in Florida.
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