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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.
Preface; 1. Introduction; PART I. THE INVASION PROCESS; 2. Dispersal; 3. Establishment; 4. Persistence and Spread; 5. Evolution; 6. Understanding and Predicting Invasions: An Integrated Approach; PART II. IMPACTS AND MANAGEMENT; 7. Impacts of Invasions; 8. Management of Invasive Species; PART III. REFLECTIONS; 9. Framing Biological Invasions; 10. Researching Biological Invasions; 11. Disciplinary Challenges; 12. Conclusion; Geographic index; Subject index; Taxonomic index
An essential reference for invasion biologists and a useful addition to the library of other ecologists. It is also an excellent starting point for those new to the field. Davis has produced a thorough record of the current state of the subject, and he has charted a roadmap that will guide research for years to come. Bioscience Overall, I enjoyed this book. The English is clear and the topics and examples well chosen. Bulletin of the British Ecological Society. It is a fascinating hybrid collection of literature review, introduction of new theory, and critique J. L. Lockwood, Rutgers University Davis writes well, and clearly. But his big contribution is to the sceptical re-examination of the field as a whole. This book will not kill it off. But if, over time, invasion biology were to become absorbed into broader ecological fields that focus on the movement of species, future historians of science might see Invasion Biology as the beginning of the end. Nature
