To coincide with its Annual Research Meeting, the Centre for Invasion Biology (C·I·B) supported a workshop focusing on the “Drivers, mechanisms, impacts and adaptations” of insect invasions through looking at agricultural pests, biocontrol agents, vectors of human disease and threats to ecosystems.
When an invasive plant enters a new area, they often change the chemical profile of the soil and bring with them a new set of soil microorganisms. Soil microorganisms play an important role in the functioning of the soil and can be used as direct expression of the impacts of invasive plants on native soils.
Polyploidization, the process whereby an organism receives two whole copies of its parents’ genomes (instead of half of each parents’ genome), is very common among plants and is thought to be an important mechanism for creating new species (polyploids).
Protected areas (PAs) are a key intervention for conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services. A major challenge for PAs is the control of invasive alien plants that spread into PAs from surrounding areas such as forestry plantations.
C·I·B researcher, Charles Griffiths, is a co-author on a recently-published study that shows major changes in the invertebrate community of a small, urban estuary resulting from the proliferation of alien reef-building worms, Ficopomatus enigmaticus.