15. Natural Invaders

Many introduced species are having a devastating effect on the cove forest community. Some are mammalian invaders and some are plant invaders. The most deadly species introduction has been the chestnut blight, a parasitic fungus that was accidentally introduced from Asia. Once a dominant canopy tree of our eastern forests, the American chestnut persists today as root sprouts in the forest understory.

Dying Hemlock | The Cove Forest

Episode 1

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA) is an aphid-sized insect that feeds on sap of the Canada hemlock, a widespread tree of eastern North American forests. The HWA causes Canada hemlock trees to drop their...

European Wild Boar | The Cove Forest

Episode 2

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Wild boar eat, trample, uproot, and kill large numbers of plants. They also compete with native animals for acorns, nuts and berries. Because the availability of fruits can vary dramatically from year...

Japanese Stilt Grass | The Cove Forest

Episode 3

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Seeds of this plant were apparently introduced from Asia into Tennessee in the early 1900s via packing material. The plant escaped and has now spread into forests throughout the eastern United States...

Flowering Dogwood in Bloom | The Cove Forest

Episode 4

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Flowering dogwood is an ecologically important understory tree in eastern forests. Today, large numbers of flowering dogwoods are dying due to an introduced parasitic fungus that causes dogwood...