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Scientists' warning on invasive alien species

Pyšek, Petr; Hulme, Philip E.; Simberloff, Dan; Bacher, Sven; Blackburn, Tim M.; Carlton, James T.; Dawson, Wayne; Essl, Franz; Foxcroft, Llewellyn C.; Genovesi, Piero; Jeschke, Jonathan M.; Kühn, Ingolf; Liebhold, Andrew M.; Mandrak, Nicholas E.; Meyerson, Laura A.; Pauchard, Aníbal; Pergl, Jan; Roy, Helen E.; Seebens, Hanno; Kleunen, Mark; Vilà, Montserrat; Wingfield, Michael J.; Richardson, David M.

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Authors

Petr Pyšek

Philip E. Hulme

Dan Simberloff

Sven Bacher

Tim M. Blackburn

James T. Carlton

Franz Essl

Llewellyn C. Foxcroft

Piero Genovesi

Jonathan M. Jeschke

Ingolf Kühn

Andrew M. Liebhold

Nicholas E. Mandrak

Laura A. Meyerson

Aníbal Pauchard

Jan Pergl

Helen E. Roy

Hanno Seebens

Mark Kleunen

Montserrat Vilà

Michael J. Wingfield

David M. Richardson



Abstract

Biological invasions are a global consequence of an increasingly connected world and the rise in human population size. The numbers of invasive alien species – the subset of alien species that spread widely in areas where they are not native, affecting the environment or human livelihoods – are increasing. Synergies with other global changes are exacerbating current invasions and facilitating new ones, thereby escalating the extent and impacts of invaders. Invasions have complex and often immense long‐term direct and indirect impacts. In many cases, such impacts become apparent or problematic only when invaders are well established and have large ranges. Invasive alien species break down biogeographic realms, affect native species richness and abundance, increase the risk of native species extinction, affect the genetic composition of native populations, change native animal behaviour, alter phylogenetic diversity across communities, and modify trophic networks. Many invasive alien species also change ecosystem functioning and the delivery of ecosystem services by altering nutrient and contaminant cycling, hydrology, habitat structure, and disturbance regimes. These biodiversity and ecosystem impacts are accelerating and will increase further in the future. Scientific evidence has identified policy strategies to reduce future invasions, but these strategies are often insufficiently implemented. For some nations, notably Australia and New Zealand, biosecurity has become a national priority. There have been long‐term successes, such as eradication of rats and cats on increasingly large islands and biological control of weeds across continental areas. However, in many countries, invasions receive little attention. Improved international cooperation is crucial to reduce the impacts of invasive alien species on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human livelihoods. Countries can strengthen their biosecurity regulations to implement and enforce more effective management strategies that should also address other global changes that interact with invasions.

Citation

Pyšek, P., Hulme, P. E., Simberloff, D., Bacher, S., Blackburn, T. M., Carlton, J. T., …Richardson, D. M. (2020). Scientists' warning on invasive alien species. Biological Reviews, 95(6), 1511-1534. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12627

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 3, 2020
Online Publication Date Jun 25, 2020
Publication Date 2020-12
Deposit Date Jul 2, 2020
Publicly Available Date Jul 2, 2020
Journal Biological Reviews
Print ISSN 1464-7931
Electronic ISSN 1469-185X
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 95
Issue 6
Pages 1511-1534
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12627

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
Advance online version © 2020 The Authors. Biological Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Cambridge Philosophical Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.





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