Many conservationists argue that invasive species form one of the most important threats to ecosystems the world over, often spreading quickly through their new environments and jeopardising the conservation of native species. As such, it is important that reliable predictions can be made regarding the effects of new species on particular habitats.
Invasion Biology and Ecological Theory provides a critical appraisal of ecosystem theory using case studies of biological invasions in Australasia. Each chapter is built around a set of 11 central hypotheses from community ecology, which were mainly developed in North American or European contexts. The authors examine the hypotheses in the light of evidence from their particular species, testing their power in explaining the success or failure of invasion and accepting or rejecting each hypothesis as appropriate. The conclusions have far-reaching consequences for the utility of community ecology, suggesting a rejection of its predictive powers and a positive reappraisal of natural history.
List of contributors
Foreword Charles J. Krebs
1. Testing hypotheses about biological invasions and Charles Darwin's two-creators rumination Herbert H. T. Prins and Iain J. Gordon
Part I. Ancient Invaders
2. Australia's Acacia: unrecognized convergent evolution Joseph T. Miller and Martin Burd
3. The mixed success of Mimosoideae clades invading into Australia Kyle W. Tomlinson
4. Perspectives from parrots on biological invasions Leo Joseph
5. Invasion ecology of honeyeaters Janette A. Norman and Leslie Christidis
6. The invasion of terrestrial fauna into marine habitat: birds in mangroves David Luther
7. Biological invasions of Sirenia in relation to ecosystem theory H. H. de Iongh and D. P. Domning
8. Flying-Foxes and drifting continents David A. Westcott and Adam McKeown
9. Invasion ecology of Australasian marsupials Christopher R. Dickman
10. Murine rodents â late but highly successful invaders Ken Aplin and Fred Ford
11. Drift of a continent â broken connections Carol Ann Stannard
12. The development of a climate â an arid continent with wet fringes Sandra McLaren, Malcolm W. Wallace, Stephen J. Gallagher, Barbara E. Wagstaff and Anne-Marie P. Tosolini
Part II. Modern Invaders
13. Invasion of woody shrubs and trees Kris French, Ben Gooden and Tanya Mason
14. Modern tree colonisers from Australia into the rest of the world Trevor H. Booth
15. Failed introductions - finches from outside Australia Jan Komdeur and Martijn Hammers
16. The skylark Judit Szabo
17. Why Northern Hemisphere waders did not colonise the south Ken Kraaijeveld
18. Weak migratory interchange by birds between Australia and Asia David Roshier and Leo Joseph
19. Introducing a new top predator, the dingo Christopher N. Johnson and Mike Letnic
20. The European rabbit - Australia's worst mammalian invader Steven R. McLeod and Glen Saunders
21. The rise and fall of the Asian water buffalo in the monsoonal tropics of Northern Australia Patricia A. Werner
22. A critique of community ecology and a salute to natural history Herbert H.T. Prins and Iain J. Gordon
Index
Herbert H. T. Prins is Professor of Resource Ecology at Wageningen University. He was twice visiting professor with CSIRO and a Foundation Fellow of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in environments ranging from savannas and rainforests, to mountains and the high arctic.
Iain J. Gordon is Chief Executive and Director of the James Hutton Institute. He has an international reputation for scientific leadership and research excellence in interdisciplinary approaches to understanding socio-ecological system dynamics. He worked for CSIRO for seven years, managing major research portfolios on land management to protect the Great Barrier Reef and conserving Australia's biodiversity.
Contributors:
Charles J. Krebs
Herbert H. T. Prins
Iain J. Gordon
Joseph T. Miller
Martin Burd
Kyle W. Tomlinson
Leo Joseph
Janette A. Norman
Leslie Christidis
David Luther
H. H. de Iongh
D. P. Domning
David A. Westcott
Adam McKeown
Christopher R. Dickman
Ken Aplin
Fred Ford
Carol Ann Stannard
Sandra McLaren
Malcolm W. Wallace
Stephen J. Gallagher
Barbara E. Wagstaff
Anne-Marie P. Tosolini
Kris French
Ben Gooden
Tanya Mason
Trevor H. Booth
Jan Komdeur
Martijn Hammers
Judit Szabo
Ken Kraaijeveld
David Roshier
Leo Joseph
Christopher N. Johnson
Mike Letnic
Steven R. McLeod
Glen Saunders
Patricia A. Werner
"This book represents a novel and exciting approach to testing some fundamental ecological ideas such as the niche concept, competition, disturbance, and life history strategy. It does so using invasive alien species, with Australia as both the invaded environment, as well as the source of the invasives. The approach taken is to propose a series of ecological hypotheses and test these against invader case studies ranging from the failed (finches) to the downright spectacular (water buffalo in Northern Australia). A series of specialist authors tackles each case study, before the editors, Prins and Gordon, conclude with a synthesis chapter that reviews the evidence for and against each hypothesis, drawing on each author's findings in a structured way. The principal intent of this book is to inform the science of ecology, but it is rich in valuable insights to those grappling with the management of this great threat to global biodiversity."
– Mark Lonsdale, CSIRO