Invasive species are nonnative species that become established in a new ecosystem. In this new area, they can significantly influence the biodiversity and impact populations of native species and their ecosystem-serving niches. Invasive plant species can cause ecological stress to the area through competition with the native plants which can be detrimental to biodiversity by introducing new diseases, causing extinctions, and endangering native species. Privet is one example of a small, aggressive invasive, and very resistant tree that has thrived in Georgia since the 1860s producing berries that have little to no nutritional value. The goal is to determine if invasive and native species can coexist. Migration patterns and competition for certain terrain can be portrayed by using mapping technology that collects data on the location of species overtime. Lifemapper is a modelling program that uses factors, such as global climate change to predict changes in distribution of of wild species. In this study, we will model the degrees of migration of Privet in several regions in the southeastern US as well as several native species. The research hypothesis that there is a trend in the distribution pattern of Privet and native species throughout the southeast and this can be linked to environmental changes and influences.
