How might the introduction of a new species of plants and animal in an area cause disastrous effects on the organisms already living in the area?

Answer 1

The two main ways in which a foreign species may lead to the extinction of an indigenous species would be through predation and competition for resources.

Predation would involve the direct consumption of the species by the invading foreign species such as a bug that decimates a plant population that it finds appetizing when there was no prior insect that would eat this plant.


Competition for resources would be due to the invading species having a competitive advantage over the indigenous species for acquiring the resource. An example of this again might include an invading bug which matures to adult form earlier in the season than an indigenous bug and is able to eat all of a plant species that the home-town bug requires for survival before they can emerge, feast and reproduce.


There are a multitude of these types of situations that can involve primary interactions between the two species (invading and indigenous that goes extinct) or secondary/tertiary interactions through a chain of species in the food web of the local ecosystem.

Answer 2

The introduction of a new species can disrupt the existing ecosystem by outcompeting native species for resources, predating on local species, or introducing new diseases or parasites. This can lead to a decline in native populations, loss of biodiversity, and ultimately ecosystem imbalance.