"Case studies of the effects of human dispersal of organisms on other organisms and the attitudes of individuals, groups and agencies toward the phenomina. The auther investigates whether introductions of species into new regions actually cause harm, and that damage blamed on excotics may be a result of industrialisation. This and the psycology of racism and xenophobia that prevail in nativism are also explored."
With the exception of climate change, biological invasions have probably received more attention during the past ten years than any other ecological topic. Yet this is the first synthetic, single-authored overview of the field since Williamson's 1996 book. Written fifty years after the publication of Elton's pioneering monograph on the subject, Invasion Biology provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the science of biological invasions while also offering new insights and perspectives relating to the processes of introduction, establishment, and spread. The book connects science with application by describing the health, economic, and ecological impacts of invasive species as well as the variety of management strategies developed to mitigate harmful impacts. The author critically evaluates the approaches, findings, and controversies that have characterized invasion biology in recent years, and suggests a variety of future research directions. Carefully balanced to avoid distinct taxonomic, ecosystem, and geographic (both investigator and species) biases, the book addresses a wide range of invasive species (including protists, invertebrates, vertebrates, fungi, and plants) which have been studied in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments throughout the world by investigators equally diverse in their origins. This accessible and thought-provoking text will be of particular interest to graduate level students and established researchers in the fields of invasion biology, community ecology, conservation biology, and restoration ecology. It will also be of value and use to land managers, policy makers, and other professionals charged with controlling the negative impacts associated with recently arrived species.
There are many hypotheses describing the interactions involved in biological invasions, but it is largely unknown whether they are backed up by empirical evidence. This book fills that gap by developing a tool for assessing research hypotheses and applying it to twelve invasion hypotheses, using the hierarchy-of-hypotheses (HoH) approach, and mapping the connections between theory and evidence. In Part 1, an overview chapter of invasion biology is followed by an introduction to the HoH approach and short chapters by science theorists and philosophers who comment on the approach. Part 2 outlines the invasion hypotheses and their interrelationships. These include biotic resistance and island susceptibility hypotheses, disturbance hypothesis, invasional meltdown hypothesis, enemy release hypothesis, evolution of increased competitive ability and shifting defence hypotheses, tens rule, phenotypic plasticity hypothesis, Darwin's naturalization and limiting similarity hypotheses and the propagule pressure hypothesis. Part 3 provides a synthesis and suggests future directions for invasion research.
Humans have moved organisms around the world for centuries but it is only relatively recently that invasion ecology has grown into a mainstream research field. This book examines both the spread and impact dynamics of invasive species, placing the science of invasion biology on a new, more rigorous, theoretical footing, and proposing a concept of adaptive networks as the foundation for future research. Biological invasions are considered not as simple actions of invaders and reactions of invaded ecosystems, but as co-evolving complex adaptive systems with emergent features of network complexity and invasibility. Invasion Dynamics focuses on the ecology of invasive species and their impacts in recipient social-ecological systems. It discusses not only key advances and challenges within the traditional domain of invasion ecology, but introduces approaches, concepts, and insights from many other disciplines such as complexity science, systems science, and ecology more broadly. It will be of great value to invasion biologists analyzing spread and/or impact dynamics as well as other ecologists interested in spread processes or habitat management.
In this edited volume, global experts in ecology and evolutionary biology explore how theories in ecology elucidate the processes of invasion, while also examining how specific invasions inform ecological theory. This reciprocal benefit is highlighted in a number of scales of organization: population, community and biogeographic. The text describes example invaders in all major groups of organisms and from a number of regions around the globe.
This new volume on Biological Invasions deals with both plants and animals, differing from previous books by extending from the level of individual species to an ecosystem and global level. Topics of highest societal relevance, such as the impact of genetically modified organisms, are interlinked with more conventional ecological aspects, including biodiversity. The combination of these approaches is new and makes compelling reading for researchers and environmentalists.
This open access volume presents a comprehensive account of all aspects of biological invasions in South Africa, where research has been conducted over more than three decades, and where bold initiatives have been implemented in attempts to control invasions and to reduce their ecological, economic and social effects. It covers a broad range of themes, including history, policy development and implementation, the status of invasions of animals and plants in terrestrial, marine and freshwater environments, the development of a robust ecological theory around biological invasions, the effectiveness of management interventions, and scenarios for the future. The South African situation stands out because of the remarkable diversity of the country, and the wide range of problems encountered in its varied ecosystems, which has resulted in a disproportionate investment into both research and management. The South African experience holds many lessons for other parts of the world, and this book should be of immense value to researchers, students, managers, and policy-makers who deal with biological invasions and ecosystem management and conservation in most other regions.
When organisms are deliberately or accidentally introduced into a new ecosystem a biological invasion may take place. These so-called ‘invasive species’ may establish, spread and ecologically alter the invaded community. Biological invasions by animals, plants, pathogens or vectors are one of the greatest environmental and economic threats and, along with habitat destruction, a leading cause of global biodiversity loss. In this book, more than 50 worldwide invasion scientists cover our current understanding of biological invasions, its impacts, patterns and mechanisms in both aquatic and terrestrial systems.
This new edition of Invasion Ecology provides a comprehensive and updated introduction to all aspects of biological invasion by non-native species. Highlighting important research findings associated with each stage of invasion, the book provides an overview of the invasion process from transportation patterns and causes of establishment success to ecological impacts, invader management, and post-invasion evolution. The authors have produced new chapters on predicting and preventing invasion, managing and eradicating invasive species, and invasion dynamics in a changing climate. Modern global trade and travel have led to unprecedented movement of non-native species by humans with unforeseen, interesting, and occasionally devastating consequences. Increasing recognition of the problems associated with invasion has led to a rapid growth in research into the dynamics of non-native species and their adverse effects on native biota and human economies. This book provides a synthesis of this fast growing field of research and is an essential text for undergraduate and graduate students in ecology and conservation management. Additional resources are available at www.wiley.com/go/invasionecology
