scholarly journals Invasion biology: critique of a pseudoscience

2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Michael Calver
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Rigorous Evaluation ◽  
Empirical Tests

Science is both highly competitive and highly cooperative, so a rigorous evaluation of an idea comes not from one's close colleagues, but from one's opponents (Hull 1988). While robust disagreement may not lead to consensus, at its best it should lead to clarification of areas of agreement and areas of dispute, as well as dialogue on the empirical tests necessary to solve the disagreements. In this context, David Theodoropoulos' new book on invasion biology attempts a rigorous, sceptical critique of the belief that invasive species are a significant threat to biodiversity.

scholarly journals Comparison of the functional responses of invasive and native amphipods

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loic Bollache ◽  
Jaimie T.A Dick ◽  
Keith D Farnsworth ◽  
W. Ian Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
North America ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Trophic Groups ◽  
Functional Responses ◽  
Dikerogammarus Villosus

While we can usually understand the impacts of invasive species on recipient communities, invasion biology lacks methodologies that are potentially more predictive. Such tools should ideally be straightforward and widely applicable. Here, we explore an approach that compares the functional responses (FRs) of invader and native amphipod crustaceans. Dikerogammarus villosus is a Ponto-Caspian amphipod currently invading Europe and poised to invade North America. Compared with other amphipods that it actively replaces in freshwaters, D. villosus exhibited significantly greater predation, consuming significantly more prey with a higher type II FR. This corroborates the known dramatic field impacts of D. villosus on invaded communities. In another species, FRs were nearly identical in invasive and native ranges. We thus propose that if FRs of other taxa and trophic groups follow such general patterns, this methodology has potential in predicting future invasive species impacts.

scholarly journals Short-Term Survival Estimates of the New Zealand Mud Snail (Potamopyrgus Antipodarium) in Polecat Creek

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 81-83
Author(s):  
Teresa Tibbets
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Survival Data ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Population Growth Rates ◽  
Mud Snail ◽  
Greater Yellowstone Area ◽  
Introduced Range ◽  
New Zealand Mud Snail

Invasive species are one of the primary threats to native biodiversity worldwide (Mack et al. 2000). Two main goals of invasion biology are to identify the mechanisms that determine which introduced species become invasive, or reach pest status, and which systems are susceptible to invasion (Heger and Trepl 2003). Therefore, it is vital to understand how invasive species sustain positive population growth rates in their introduced range. In this study, I estimated in situ survival of the invasive mud snail, Potamopyrgus antipodarium, in order to assess the population viability and life history patterns of this species in the Greater Yellowstone Area. The mean percent survival of P. antipodarium was 86% during the two-week study period. The field survival data is currently being used to construct a demographic population model of how P. antipodarum populations under different environmental conditions.

scholarly journals Smaller climatic niche shifts in invasive than non-invasive alien ant species

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia K. Bates ◽  
Sébastien Ollier ◽  
Cleo Bertelsmeier
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Human Movement ◽  
Climatic Niche ◽  
Spatial Spread ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Niche Shifts ◽  
Negative Impacts

Abstract The globalization of trade and human movement has resulted in the accidental dispersal of thousands of alien species worldwide at an unprecedented scale. Some of these species are considered invasive because of their extensive spatial spread or negative impacts on native biodiversity. Explaining which alien species become invasive is a major challenge of invasion biology, and it is often assumed that invasiveness is linked to a greater ability to establish in novel climates. To test whether invasive species have expanded more into novel climates than non-invasive alien species, we quantified niche shifts of 82 ant species. Surprisingly, invasive species showed smaller niche shifts than non-invasive alien species. Independent of their invasiveness, the species with the smallest native niches and range sizes, experienced the greatest niche shifts. Overall, our results challenge the assumption that invasive species are particularly good pioneers of novel climates.

scholarly journals Plant Invasion Research in Russia: Basic Projects and Scientific Fields

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1477
Author(s):  
Yulia K. Vinogradova ◽  
Valeriy K. Tokhtar ◽  
Alexander A. Notov ◽  
Sergey R. Mayorov ◽  
Elena S. Danilova
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
Invasion Pathways ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Secondary Distribution ◽  
Over 40 Years ◽  
Scientific Fields ◽  
New Habitats

This paper represents a review of comprehensive research into invasion biology done by Russian scholars for four decades. Invasion biology is a relatively new field of research focused on the study of alien plants, their behavior in new habitats and risks they pose to indigenous species. It is shown that over 40 years, single finds of alien plant species have transformed into a check-list of invasive species in Russia. The most significant invasion pathways were identified, and the rate of microevolutional changes in plant species in their secondary distribution range was determined. Since the most active alien species disperse without regard to national borders, international cooperation is crucial in joint studies of invasive species.

scholarly journals The population genomics of invasive species

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry North ◽  
Angela McGaughran ◽  
Chris Jiggins
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Population Genomics ◽  
Balancing Selection ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
Genome Resequencing ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Whole Genome Resequencing

By studying invasive species, evolutionary geneticists have been able to simultaneously inform management strategies and quantify rapid evolution in the wild. The role of genomics in invasion science is increasingly recognised, and the growing availability of reference genomes for invasive species is paving the way for whole-genome resequencing studies in a wide range of systems. Here, we survey the literature to assess the application of whole-genome resequencing data in invasion biology. For some applications, such as the reconstruction of invasion routes in time and space, sequencing the whole genome of many individuals simply increases the accuracy of existing methods. In other cases, population genomic approaches such as haplotype analysis can permit entirely new questions to be addressed and new technologies to be applied. To date whole-genome resequencing has only been applied to a handful of invasive systems, but these studies have highlighted important roles for processes such as balancing selection and hybridization that allow invasive species to reuse existing adaptations and rapidly overcome the challenges of a foreign ecosystem. The use of genomic data does not constitute a paradigm shift per se, but by leveraging new theory, tools, and technologies, population genomics can provide unprecedented insight into basic and applied aspects of invasion science.

Adaptive evolution and phenotypic plasticity during naturalization and spread of invasive species: implications for tree invasion biology

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 635-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Dudeque Zenni ◽  
Jean-Baptiste Lamy ◽  
Laurent Jean Lamarque ◽  
Annabel Josée Porté
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Adaptive Evolution ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Tree Invasion

Who’s invading what? Systems thinking about invasive species

2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 993-999 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. M. H. Larson
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Sociology Of Science ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Ecological Change ◽  
Invasive Plant Species ◽  
Per Se

While invasive plant species have dramatic and varied effects, this paper examines the focus of this symposium on their “threat to native biodiversity and ecosystems”. This claim implies that there is (i) an enduring something, (ii) it is native, and (iii) it is under threat from invasive species. I examine these implications in turn, first considering the role of the observer in invasion biology, particularly in preferring a nature characterized by stability rather than flux. Second, I examine the concept of “native” given that humans are thoroughly embedded within natural ecological systems. Third, I demonstrate how our exclusion of humans conditions us to consider invasive species a primary threat rather than one among many interacting causal agents of global change; in particular, recent evidence indicates that these agents, which include human-caused disturbances and global warming (not to mention human population growth and global trade), may overwhelm the effects of invasive species per se. For these and other reasons, some ecologists have argued that ecological change is inevitable and that our concerns about invasive species are unjustified. I discuss these issues and suggest ways for ecologists to conduct engaged research through appropriate advocacy and engagement with stakeholders dealing with local invasive species. Key words: Advocacy, culture, philosophy of nature, sociology of science

scholarly journals The Aliens in Our Midst: Managing Our Ecosystems

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Banu Subramaniam
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Popular Literature ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Major Threat ◽  
Nature And Culture ◽  
The Social ◽  
Foreign Species

I begin with a central and profound insight of the feminist and cultural studies of science: that nature and culture, science and society, and biology and the social are not binary opposites. Rather, they are co-constituted and co-produced. We need to go beyond the idea of nature shaping culture and culture shaping nature and move toward an understanding where nature and culture are seen as inextricably interconnected and indeed as constitutive of each other. Instead of the binary formulation of nature and culture, we should begin thinking in terms of Donna Haraway’s (1999) memorable phrase naturecultures. There is no nature and culture, only naturecultures. I use the field of invasion biology as an illustrative case in point. It will come as no surprise to readers of this volume that we live in times of numerous environmental crises, in particular perceived crises of our ecosystems. While there are many sites and sources of the problems that have been identified, one prominent source in the biological and popular literature is that of invasive species. It is argued that some exotic and foreign species are entering the nation, growing and reproducing aggressively and in the process destroying native habitats and landscapes. The central problem is seen as a proliferation of exotic and foreign species, and the solution proposed is the eradication of these species in order to save native ecosystems. As Preston and Williams (2003) sum up: “Invasive alien species are emerging as one of the major threats to sustainable development, on a par with global warming and the destruction of life support systems.” Considered as biological “pollutants,” invasive species are seen as a major threat (Simberloff 2000) and a costly “catastrophe” for native biodiversity (McNeely 2001). They are seen by the National Wildlife Foundation as a “major threat” to biodiversity, second only to habitat loss and degradation, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has similarly described them as a “major cause” of biodiversity loss throughout the world. Politicians and environmental activists alike call for immediate action (Carlton 1999).

Alien invasive vertebrates in ecosystems: pattern, process and the social dimension

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piran C. L. White ◽  
Adriana E. S. Ford ◽  
Mick N. Clout ◽  
Richard M. Engeman ◽  
Sugoto Roy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Alien Invasive Species ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

The rate of biological invasions has increased dramatically over recent centuries. Alien invasive vertebrates have significant adverse effects on biodiversity, and island fauna are especially susceptible. Human-induced environmental change is likely to exacerbate these negative impacts of alien invasive species. However, invasion biology has advanced considerably over the last two decades, with improvement in understanding of the processes of establishment and spread. New developments in spatial modelling have elucidated the way in which behavioural processes at the individual level can drive population-level patterns such as spread. Combined with new genetic insights into the process of invasion, these advances may assist in the development of novel, better-targeted management strategies that provide new options in how to deal with the threat posed by invasive species. Decisions about whether to and how we should intervene are questions for all sectors of society, but research on the social and cultural impacts of invasive species is largely lacking. There are many opportunities for enhancing the social dimensions of invasive species research, and integrated assessments of the social, economic and environmental impacts of species provide one potential avenue. As part of this, there is also a need to increase stakeholder participation in the decision-making process regarding alien invasive species. These more holistic approaches are essential if we are to reduce the impact of alien invasive species to within acceptable limits in the face of rapid environmental change.

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