Non-native or “exotic” species are plants, animals, or microbes that have been transported from one geographic region to an area where they did not live previously. The Chesapeake Bay watershed has become home to many non-native species — some innocuous, some beneficial, but others destructive beyond our expectations. Non-native or “exotic” species are plants, animals, or microbes that have been transported from one geographic region to an area where they did not live previously. The Chesapeake Bay watershed has become home to many non-native species — some innocuous, some beneficial, but others destructive beyond our expectations.