biological invasions

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
Read more about the article Human impacts on biodiversity in southern Africa: how much do we know?
A remnant patch of Renosterveld in the Piketberg area, reflecting substantial landscape modification. Components of the soil fauna in these patches are dominated by invasive alien species. Image: S.L. Chown.
2010 / Highlighted papers

Human impacts on biodiversity in southern Africa: how much do we know?

The influence of human activities on biodiversity is extensive and worldwide. In fact, there may not be any untouched region as the impacts of anthropogenic climate change and occurrences of biological invasions are ubiquitous across biomes.

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11 November 2010
Read more about the article Getting a handle on biological invasions around the world — the species, the impacts and the responses
Examples of Critically Endangered birds threatened by IAS include (from left to right): the Juan Fernández Firecrown (Sephanoides fernandensis) threatened by a range of introduced plant and animal IAS on Isla Robinson Crusoe, Juan Fernÿndez Islands, Chile (Credit: Rare Birds Yearbook/Peter Hodum); the Polynesian Ground-dove (Gallicolumba erythroptera) threatened by cats and rats on islands in French Polynesia (Credit: Rare Birds Yearbook/Pete Morris); the Akohekohe (Palmeria dolei), threatened by introduced disease-carrying mosquitoes on Maui, Hawaii (Credit: Rare Birds Yearbook/Aaron French). (Cover design: K. Coombe-Davis).
2010 / Highlighted papers

Getting a handle on biological invasions around the world — the species, the impacts and the responses

Invasive alien species are generally accepted as being one of the top three threats to biodiversity worldwide, but until now there has been no metric for assessing the magnitude problem globally, its impact and our responses to it.

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5 February 2010