Read more about the article C·I·B host international workshop on Invasion Syndromes
Participants at the international workshop on “Invasion Syndromes”, held on 6-8 November 2017 in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

C·I·B host international workshop on Invasion Syndromes

In November 2017, the Centre for Invasion Biology (C·I·B) hosted an international workshop on “Invasion Syndromes”. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of identifying invasion syndromes when studying and managing biological invasions.

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Special Issue of Biological Invasions

The December 2017 edition of the journal Biological Invasions is a special issue devoted to papers from a conference on urban invasions that was hosted by the Centre for Invasion Biology (C•I•B) in November 2017.

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Read more about the article Being mycorrhizal is important for the persistence and spread of alien plants
Canadian poplar (Populus Canadensis) was one of the alien tree species considered in the study. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Creative Commons)

Being mycorrhizal is important for the persistence and spread of alien plants

A “mycorrhiza” is a relationship between a fungus and the roots of a plant. The fungus lives inside the plant roots, and increases the roots’ efficiency in absorbing nutrients from the soil. In such a relationship, both the plants and the fungi, are said to be mycorrhizal and this relationship between plant roots and its associated fungi (“mycorrhizal fungi”) is, amongst other things, important for plant growth.

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Acacia seed banks can accumulate in the presence of biological control agents

A recent study by C.I.B PhD graduate Mathys Strydom (currently at the Academy of Environmental Leadership) found that annual seed input of invasive Australian Acacias is still high, despite the use of biological control agents.

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Read more about the article Protected areas defend wildlife from invasive alien species
The invasive grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) has largely displaced the native red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) in the UK, and is unanimously recognised by conservationists as posing a serious threat to global ecosystems. (Photo by BirdPhotos.com (BirdPhotos.com) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

Protected areas defend wildlife from invasive alien species

Nature reserves, national parks and marine protected areas have been proven to effectively shield native wildlife from the impacts of invasive species, according to a recent study in the journal Global Change Biology.

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