Invasion Biology And Ecological Theory

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.

A critical appraisal of ecosystem theory using case studies of plant and animal invasions in Australasia.

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.

Invasion ecology is the study of the causes and consequences of the introduction of organisms to areas outside their native range. Interest in this field has exploded in the past few decades. Explaining why and how organisms are moved around the world, how and why some become established and invade, and how best to manage invasive species in the face of global change are all crucial issues that interest biogeographers, ecologists and environmental managers in all parts of the world. This book brings together the insights of more than 50 authors to examine the origins, foundations, current dimensions and potential trajectories of invasion ecology. It revisits key tenets of the foundations of invasion ecology, including contributions of pioneering naturalists of the 19th century, including Charles Darwin and British ecologist Charles Elton, whose 1958 monograph on invasive species is widely acknowledged as having focussed scientific attention on biological invasions.

Carefully balanced to avoid distinct taxonomic, ecosystem, and geographic 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."--BOOK JACKET.

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

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.

Proposes new ways of managing ecological invasions by implementing an open adaptive network framework for ecosystem transformation.