Mutualisms are relationships between organisms of different species in which each individual benefits from the activity of the other. These relationships are hugely important in nature. Essential services provided by mutualists include pollination, seed dispersal and the constitution of global cycles of carbon and other nutrients.
The new approach of ‘sustainable intensification’ in the livestock industry aims to increase food production from existing farmland while minimising pressure on the environment. While beneficial in many respects, this approach poses a major environmental risk, since many newly developed pasture plants pose a high risk of becoming invasive.
Mounting challenges from man-made environmental change means measuring and tracking changes in biodiversity—the total living natural assets on earth—is becoming increasingly more important.
Island biogeography theory predicts that most island species originate from nearby mainland regions and therefore arrive through rare, long-distance dispersal events. How close islands are to mainland regions must therefore be an important factor in determining the make-up of island biotas.
One of the major transformations of the planet from human activities is the redistribution of species to areas outside their native range. These “alien” species have in many cases caused substantial harmful impacts to the recipient environment.