Invasive Species

Daniel Simberloff is Professor of Environmental Studies and Director of the Institute for Biological Invasions at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Biological Invasions and senior editor of the Encyclopedia of Biological Invasions (University of California Press, 2011).

• Table of Contents ; Chapter 1: General Information ; 1. What is a biological invasion? - Definitions of "introduced species," "native species," "invasion," "invasive" ; 2. When did the study of biological invasions begin? ; 3. Why are biological invasions important? ; 4. What controversies surround invasions and their management? ; Chapter 2: Magnitude, geography, and time course of invasions ; 1. How many introduced species become invasive? ; 2. How many biological invasions are there? ; 3. Where do most biological invaders come from, and where do they go? ; 4. When have invasions occurred and by what means? How have rates of invasions changed? ; 5. Why are island ecosystems especially vulnerable? ; 6. How are introduced species distributed among habitats, and how do they get around? ; Chapter 3: Ecological effects of introduced species - straightforward impacts ; 1. How do biological invasions modify habitats? ; 2. How do invaders compete with native species? ; 3. What are the impacts of introduced predators? ; 4. What are the impacts of introduced herbivores? ; 5. What roles do introduced parasites and diseases play? ; 6. How does hybridization with invaders affect native species? ; Chapter 4: Impacts of invasions - complications and human impacts ; 1. What is an "indirect effect"? ; 2. What is "invasional meltdown"? ; 3. Why do many impacts occur only after a time lag? ; 4. Do invaders ever just go away on their own? ; 5. What are the economic impacts of biological invasions? ; 6. What are the public health consequences of biological invasions? ; Chapter 5: Evolution of introduced and native species ; 1. What is the "paradox" of biological invasions? ; 2. How do introduced species evolve? ; 3. How do introduced pathogens and native hosts co-evolve? ; 4. How do native species evolve in response to invasions? ; 5. How does hybridization affect natives and invaders? ; 6. What are the "enemy release" and EICA hypotheses? ; 7. How can the paradox of invasion genetics be resolved? ; Chapter 6: How and why do invasions occur? ; 1. Why do people deliberately introduce animals? ; 2. Why do people introduce plants? ; 3. What were acclimatization societies? ; 4. What are some unusual motives for introducing animals? ; 5. What are "stepping stones"? ; 6. How do unintended introductions occur? ; Chapter 7: Can we predict species invasions? ; 1. Can we predict which species will become invasive if they are introduced? ; 2. What is risk assessment for biological invasions? ; 3. How is risk assessed for unplanned introductions? ; Chapter 8: How are species introductions regulated? ; 1. What international agreements address biological invasions? ; 2. How do national regulatory frameworks differ? ; 3. Do further introductions matter once a species has invaded? ; 4. How could economic measures aid regulation and management? ; Chapter 9: Detection and eradication of introduced species ; 1. What is an early detection/rapid response system? ; 2. When should an introduction simply be tolerated? ; 3. What is eradication, and when should it be attempted? ; 4. What characteristics separate successful eradications from failures? ; Chapter 10: Maintenance management of invasions ; 1. What are mechanical and physical control? ; 2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of chemical control? ; 3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of biological control? ; 4. What is integrated pest management? ; 5. What is ecosystem management? ; Chapter 11: Controversies surrounding biological invasions ; 1. Which introduced species are harmful and which are useful? ; 2. How do introduced species affect biodiversity? ; 3. How do we know a species is introduced and not native? ; 4. Are actions against introduced species xenophobic? ; 5. Are efforts to contain invasions futile? ; 6. Should animal rights govern management of invasive species? ; Chapter 12: Prospect - the Homogeocene? ; 1. What is biotic homogenization? ; 2. How will patterns of human activity affect biological invasions? ; 3. How will global climate change and other global changes affect biological invasions? ; 4. What new technologies will aid detection and monitoring of invasions? ; 5. How will new management technologies affect invasions? ; 6. Will new technologies reverse the trend? A test case. ; Glossary ; Further reading ; Appendix: Scientific names of species cited in this book ; Index

Written for nonexpert but educated readers, Invasive Species will reward those who demand well-documented information without requiring scientific details. By extending his wide-ranging survey of biological invasions beyond their biology, Simberloff acknowledges the crucial human dimensions of invasive species.