Antarctica is regarded as one of the most pristine environments on Earth. There is, however, a growing concern that the icy continent is being threatened by alien species that are accidentally being brought to the continent in the luggage of tourists and scientists.
Much remains to be understood about why some introduced species become invasive whereas others do not. Recently, polyploidy (whole genome duplication) has been proposed as an important determinant of invasiveness in plants.
The poorly resolved taxonomy of many organisms represents a major obstacle to correctly identifying them as being either native or introduced. This is because several groups are only known to a handful of experts.
South Africa’s long and extensive trade activity has ensured ample opportunities for the introduction of non-native species. Whereas the rich biodiversity of endemic southern African fauna has been the focus of many studies, alien vertebrates are generally overlooked despite their potential negative impacts on biodiversity, human health and agriculture.
The old adage than “an ecosystem is more than the sum of its parts” is well illustrated by plant-pollinator mutualisms. Pollination is a vital ecosystem process that mostly goes unnoticed, typically involving small animals that transfer pollen from flower to flower as they sip nectar or gather pollen.