Non-native Species and Their Role in the Environment

Erscheinungsjahr 2016
ISBN: 978-90-04-17266-1
Verlag: Koninklijke Brill BV

Buch, Englisch, 316 Seiten, Format (B × H): 162 mm x 244 mm, Gewicht: 595 g

Reihe: Brill

The young field of invasion biology - initially a branch of ecology and conservation biology - has greatly expanded, particularly in the last two and a half decades or so. As a result, the potential negative effects of introduced species have been widely advertised and sometimes, perhaps, overemphasized. This book attempts to restore some balance to the current debate over the role of non-native species, by offering a broader perspective, and taking a longer term, evolutionary look at these species and their impact in their new environments. The relatively arbitrary nature of terms such as "native" and "non-native", and the rather inconsistent ways in which such terms are applied to biological species, as well as the subjective boundaries of so-called "native ranges" are analyzed. The role of non-native species in their new environments can be considerably more complex than the anti-introduced species information would often suggest. Thus, the more positive and nuanced perspective on introduced species and their impact offered in this book is much needed and long overdue.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Guiasu, Radu Cornel

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Biodiversität
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltschutz, Umwelterhaltung
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Taxonomie und Systematik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1

1 The Troublesome Matter of Subjective Definitions 8

2 The Dynamic Distributions of Species and the Static Concept of Native Range 38

3 Speciation, Biodiversity, and Introduced Species 57

4 The Controversies Regarding the Perceived Negative Impacts of Non-native Species 83

5 Positive Contributions of Introduced Species 139

6 Changing Ecosystems and Impacts of Introduced Species over Time 160

7 The Endless War on Invasive Species – Control and Eradication Programs 203

8 Some Conclusions and Some Questions 244

Literature Cited 277

Index 309

Über Autor(innen)

Dr. Radu Guiasu, Ph.D. (1997) in Zoology from the University of Toronto, is an Associate Professor in, as well as the Coordinator of, the Biology Program and the Environmental and Health Studies Program at Glendon College, York University, in Toronto, Canada. His published studies in areas such as conservation biology, ecology, ethology, evolutionary biology, and phylogenetics are based on work conducted in the laboratory and museum collections, as well as hundreds of field trips. Professor Guiasu has won major teaching awards at both the college and the university level and is a member of the Editorial Board of the scientific journal Crustaceana.