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Sometimes by accident and sometimes on purpose, humans have transported plants and animals to new habitats around the world. Arriving in ever-increasing numbers to American soil, recent invaders have competed with, preyed on, hybridized with, and carried diseases to native species, transforming our ecosystems and creating anxiety among environmentalists and the general public. But is American anxiety over this crisis of ecological identity a recent phenomenon? Charting shifting attitudes to alien species since the 1850s, Peter Coates brings to light the rich cultural and historical aspects of this story by situating the history of immigrant flora and fauna within the wider context of human immigration. Through an illuminating series of particular invasions, including the English sparrow and the eucalyptus tree, what he finds is that we have always perceived plants and animals in relation to ourselves and the polities to which we belong. Setting the saga of human relations with the environment in the broad context of scientific, social, and cultural history, this thought-provoking book demonstrates how profoundly notions of nationality and debates over race and immigration have shaped American understandings of the natural world.

The role of non-native species in their new environments is one of the central issues in conservation biology and ecology today. This book presents a comprehensive evolutionary exploration of the complex and dynamic interactions between introduced species and native ones, and shows that non-native species can bring useful and important contributions to novel ecosystems. Based on a wide variety of examples and case studies, a strong case is made for a more positive and objective approach to non-native species and a greater appreciation of the valuable ecosystem services they provide.

The invasion of ecosystems by alien species is a key driver of global environmental change and many invasive plant species attain sufficiently high abundance to alter the structure and function of an ecosystem. This book is the first publication to explain the reasons as to why some alien species undergo a profound shift in their ecological fortune from being minor components of their native ecosystems to becoming devastating dominants of non-native habitats.The book assesses the ecological, morphological, functional and genetic factors that contribute to invasion success. Cutting-edge tools in molecular genetics in the past two decades have opened up additional avenues for ecologists to address such questions and obtain novel insights in the ecology of invasive species. This text also highlights which molecular approaches are especially useful in discriminating between native and non-native populations of invaders that cannot otherwise be differentiated based on morphological traits. Such molecular approaches can yield useful insights with potential implications for biodiversity managers to identify alien invasive species that are likely to become invaders in the near future, thereby prioritizing them accordingly for different management strategies.

The Ethics and Rhetoric of Invasion Ecology provides an introduction to the controversial treatment and ongoing violence routinely utilized against non-native species.Drawing from the tradition of critical animal scholars, Stanescu and Cummings have assembled a group of advocates who argue for a different kind of relationship with foreign species.

Invasive alien plants and animals are known for their disruption of ecosystems and threat to biodiversity. This book highlights their major impact on human health. This includes not only direct effects through contact with the species via bites, wounds and disease, but also indirect effects caused by changes induced in ecosystems by invasive species, such as more water hyacinth increasing mosquito levels and thereby the potential for malaria. Covering a wide range of case studies from different taxa (animals and plants), and giving an overview of the diverse impacts of invasive species on health in developed and developing countries, the book is a significant contribution that will help in prioritizing approaches to controlling invasive species and mitigating their health effects. It covers invasive plants, marine species, spiders and other arachnids, ticks and dust mites, insects, mosquitos and other diptera, freshwater species (invertebrates and fishes), amphibians and reptiles, birds and mammals. Key Features Collects together the major health impacts for the first timeCovers animal and plant invasive speciesExamines issues in developed and developing countries The broad spectrum of the analyzed case studies will ensure the appeal of the book to a wide public, including researchers of biological invasions, doctors, policy-makers and managers, and students of invasive species in ecology, animal and plant biology and public health medicine.

The human-mediated introduction of species to regions of the world they could never reach by natural means has had great impacts on the environment, the economy, and society. In the ocean, these invasions have long been mediated by the uptake and subsequent release of ballast water in ocean-going vessels. Increasing world trade and a concomitantly growing global shipping fleet composed of larger and faster vessels, combined with a series of prominent ballast-mediated invasions over the past two decades, have prompted active national and international interest in ballast water management. Assessing the Relationship Between Propagule Pressure and Invasion Risk in Ballast Water informs the regulation of ballast water by helping the Environnmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) better understand the relationship between the concentration of living organisms in ballast water discharges and the probability of nonindigenous organisms successfully establishing populations in U.S. waters. The report evaluates the risk-release relationship in the context of differing environmental and ecological conditions,including estuarine and freshwater systems as well as the waters of the three-mile territorial sea. It recommends how various approaches can be used by regulatory agencies to best inform risk management decisions on the allowable concentrations of living organisms in discharged ballast water in order to safeguard against the establishment of new aquatic nonindigenous species, and to protect and preserve existing indigenous populations of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and other beneficial uses of the nation's waters. Assessing the Relationship Between Propagule Pressure and Invasion Risk in Ballast Water provides valuable information that can be used by federal agencies, such as the EPA, policy makers, environmental scientists, and researchers.

What does an unusually large, ugly, invasive species of toad have to do with global warming, international trade, and the survival of biodiversity? Quite a lot, actually. Mark Lewis's amazing and hilarious documentaryCane Toadstells the story of Bufo marinus, which was introduced to Australia in 1935 to control bugs but which quickly became a far greater menace than the beetles they eat. Today they number in the hundreds of millions and are taking over Australian habitats at 25 miles per year, spreading disease and killing native species as they go. Rogue Speciesexplains the little-understood dangers of invasive species. Ranging from the zebra mussel (currently threatening the health of the Great Lakes) to the infamous kudzu vine (a Japanese import that now smothers seven million acres in the American southeast), these disastrous human blunders threaten the biodiversity on which all life-including our own-depends. The book will raise readers' awareness about the threat of non-native species, increase their appreciation of natural biodiversity, and explain what they can do to help protect unique ecosystems wherever they live or travel.

Freshwater bivalves are key faunal elements of aquatic ecosystems. Native species declines are paralleled by increasing distribution and abundances of non-native species. Appropriate management of both groups depends on knowledge of their interactions, which remains limited. Herein, we systematically review the current knowledge status of native and non-native bivalves in Europe, analyzing their functional interactions as well as niche and distribution overlaps between species. We also review existing management tools for non-native species in light of their applicability and sustainability. Strong and multiple interactions as well as niche overlaps between native and non-native bivalves already exist in Central Europe, especially with regard to Dreissena spp., Corbicula spp., and Sinanodonta woodiana . Direct competition is low with native species that have a high degree of specialization such as Margaritifera margaritifera , whereas the greatest niche overlap and competition occurs in generalist species such as Anadonta anatina , Unio pictorum , and S. woodiana . Early detection and preventive measures against undesired species are most successful in limiting their spread. Most methods for managing non-native species are unspecific and thus also include undesired side effects on endangered native species. The conservation and restoration of functionally intact bivalve habitats are the most sustainable and most resilient ways of management.

The disruption of mutualisms by invasive species has consequences for biodiversity loss and ecosystem function. Although invasive plant effects on the pollination of individual native species has been the subject of much study, their impacts on entire plant–pollinator communities are less understood. Community-level studies on plant invasion have mainly focused on two fronts: understanding the mechanisms that mediate their integration; and their effects on plant–pollinator network structure. Here we briefly review current knowledge and propose a more unified framework for evaluating invasive species integration and their effects on plant–pollinator communities. We further outline gaps in our understanding and propose ways to advance knowledge in this field. Specifically, modeling approaches have so far yielded important predictions regarding the outcome and drivers of invasive species effects on plant communities. However, experimental studies that test these predictions in the field are lacking. We further emphasize the need to understand the link between invasive plant effects on pollination network structure and their consequences for native plant population dynamics (population growth). Integrating demographic studies with those on pollination networks is thus key in order to achieve a more predictive understanding of pollinator-mediated effects of invasive species on the persistence of native plant biodiversity.

Effective genetic management of the ~700 aquatic species cultured globally should be addressed for aquaculture to make a significant contribution towards meeting the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. This article aims to identify the current status and challenges relating to the management of farmed aquatic genetic resources (AqGR) and to make recommendations for its improvement. The lack of information on the genetic status of many farmed species is a critical constraint and there is a need to characterize these resources and develop information systems and tools to monitor farmed types used for aquaculture and their wild counterparts. Risk assessment is needed when introducing non‐native species and when managing native species including developed farmed types; policies need to be improved and increased awareness and training in risk assessment are required. To increase the uptake of selective breeding in aquaculture, there is a need for the development and adoption of better and more sustainable business models, including long‐term financial instruments such as public–private partnerships. Training and technology transfer between aquaculture sectors can have significant impact, especially for lower‐value species. Nationally and globally applicable instruments and regulations need to be adapted to AqGR and become operational and be effectively implemented by countries.