2011

Read more about the article Towards an optimal strategy for monitoring invasive plants in protected areas
A unique data set on the distribution of invasive alien plants for the Kruger National Park (KNP), captured using the CyberTracker system, provided the opportunity to devise an optimal sampling scheme for monitoring the further spread and the effectiveness of management interventions. Invasive plants shown are (clockwise from top left: Lantana camara, Chromolaena odorata, Parthenium hysterophorus, and Opuntia stricta). Maps show the distribution of data points for the entire KNP and for a small section to illustrate the thorough coverage.
2011 / Highlighted papers

Towards an optimal strategy for monitoring invasive plants in protected areas

Protected areas are a crucial part of global biodiversity conservation strategies. However, the ecological integrity of most protected areas is currently under threat from biological invasions which are a major direct driver of biodiversity loss, changes in ecosystem services and biotic homogenization.

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4 May 2011
Read more about the article Global distribution of the Argentine ant under the spotlight
Argentine ants tending scale insects on an orange tree in suburban California (Photo by Alex Wild).
2011 / Highlighted papers

Global distribution of the Argentine ant under the spotlight

Because of the numerous threats posed by invasive species to natural ecosystems, a major goal of invasion biology is to understand the factors explaining the distribution of species worldwide. Despite the many efforts at local and regional scales to predict areas vulnerable to invasion, the relative roles of biotic and abiotic conditions on the global distribution of species are still rather poorly understood.

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25 January 2011