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Today there is no place on Earth that does not harbour invasive exotic species. Invasive plants and animals can be found on every continent, including Antarctica, and within all water bodies, including all oceans. In our increasingly connected world, with speedy commercial and recreational travel and the global movement of biological matter for food, invasive species are showing up at such a fast rate that there is no way to accurately count how many currently exist or how many are likely to emerge in the coming decades. Monitoring these species and controlling their spread is essential, as we increasingly understand the negative impacts they pose: their threat to our health; the toll they take on our commercial production; and the threat they pose to native ecosystems.
This Very Short Introduction provides a clear definition of an invasive species, and considers the myriad ways they are moved around the globe, and the ecological, social, and economic impacts they often impose. Exploring the way Earth's biodiversity is being affected by global change, Julie Lockwood also discusses policy and management approaches to combating the ill-effects of invasive species, and how invasive species fit within the broader context of environmental change.
List of illustrations
1. What is an invasive species?
2. Invasion pathways
3. Establishment
4. Spread
5. Ecological impact
6. Socio-economic impact
7. Policy and management
8. Future of invasion science
Future reading
Index
Dr Julie Lockwood explores the fate of Earth's biodiversity in the wake of global change. Humans dominate current ecological and evolutionary processes to a great extent. As a consequence, a growing list of species are lost to extinction, while another set of species ride the wave of globalization as invasive species. Dr Lockwood and her research group document and explore the societal implications of this transformation of global biodiversity. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Dr Lockwood was trained as a conservation biologist at the University of Tennessee and now is Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources at Rutgers University.
Dr Dustin Welbourne spent 10 years in academia where his work focused on the development and evaluation of sampling techniques used to detect cryptic fauna. He received his PhD from the University of New South Wales in Australia where he developed camera trapping methods to effectively survey terrestrial reptiles. He now works in the private sector as a consultant and educator on several data analytic topics for various clients including the Australian Government. Dr Welbourne also has a passion for science communication and has won several national awards and received an MSc for his work in science communication from the Australian National University. By keeping a hand in research and translating science for the general public, Dr Welbourne hopes to empower non-specialists with a better understanding of global socio-environmental challenges.
