Prevalence and Distribution of Invasive Species: a Field Study of Flora in Tofino, British Columbia

Invasive species are a problem all over the province, including Tofino and the Wildlife Management Area. Human disturbance provides an opportunity to invasive species to colonize an area before native species are able to. The disruption of terrestrial environments can lead to changes in ecosystem composition by way of invasive species or the natural succession of faster growing native species. The impacts of changing plant composition not only affect the terrestrial system but also the coastal environment. Human disruption of Wildlife Management Areas can lead to unwanted species and decreased ecological integrity resulting in the opposite of the desired effect of the WMA. The main objective of this project was to see the effect of human disturbance on species composition and the prevalence of invasive species by way of setting up transects perpendicular to areas of disturbance to obtain measures of density, diversity and invasive species frequency.