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Environment & Climate vocabulary · Biodiversity and Conservation

Invasive species

Meaning in environment & climate, with examples

/ɪnˈveɪsɪv ˈspiːʃiːz/nounCommon term

In environment & climate, invasive species means: A plant, animal or other organism that people have moved to a new area, where it spreads quickly and harms native species, ecosystems or the economy.

In Turkish: istilacı tür, istilacı yabancı tür

How it is used

Also called invasive alien species. Common phrases: introduce, spread, control or eradicate invasive species. They arrive through ships' ballast water, trade, gardening or canals. The opposite of an invasive or alien species is a native species.

Example sentences

  1. Lionfish are an invasive species in the eastern Mediterranean and compete with native fish for food.

  2. Ships must treat their ballast water to stop the spread of invasive species.

Common collocations

  • invasive alien species
  • control invasive species
  • spread of invasive species
  • native species
  • biodiversityThe variety of all living things in a place, including the different species of plants, animals and microorganisms, the genes within them and the ecosystems they form.
  • ecosystemA community of living things together with their physical environment, such as soil, water and climate, all interacting as one system, for example a forest, lake or coral reef.
  • endangered speciesA type of plant or animal that is at high risk of disappearing from the wild, usually because of habitat loss, hunting, pollution or climate change.
  • extinctionThe complete disappearance of a species, when its last individual dies. A species can also be extinct in the wild but still survive in zoos or botanical gardens.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Biodiversity and Conservation

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