Biological Invasions

✍ Scribed by Dr. Wolfgang Nentwig (auth.), Dr. Wolfgang Nentwig (eds.)

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 443
• Series: Ecological Studies 193
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This new volume on Biological Invasions deals with both plants and animals.

It differs from previous books on the subject by extending from the level of individual species to an ecosystem and global level.

Topics of highest societal relevance, such as the impact of genetically modified organisms, are interlinked with more conventional ecological aspects, including biodiversity.

The combination of these approaches is new and makes compelling reading for researchers and environmentalists.

The book’s 22 chapters cover a huge range of subjects relevant to the field. These include pathways of biological invasions (e.g. ballast water, waterways), traits of successful invaders (e.g. chemical weapons, empty niches), and patterns of invasion and invasibility, such as man-induced predisposition by fire, land use and eutrophication, and the role of climate change.

The contributors also cover ecological impacts including food web shifts and genetic pollution; economy and socio-economy (e.g. ecosystem services and monetary valuation), and prevention and management of biological invasions. The issues here include phytosanitary measures and biolog

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter....Pages I-XXV
Biological Invasions: why it Matters....Pages 1-6
Front Matter....Pages 9-10
Pathways in Animal Invasions....Pages 11-27
Pathways in Plant Invasions....Pages 29-47
Is Ballast Water a Major Dispersal Mechanism for Marine Organisms?....Pages 49-57
Waterways as Invasion Highways – Impact of Climate Change and Globalization....Pages 59-74
Front Matter....Pages 77-78
Integrating Ecological and Evolutionary Theory of Biological Invasions....Pages 79-96
Traits Associated with Invasiveness in Alien Plants: Where Do we Stand?....Pages 97-125
Do Successful Invaders Exist? Pre-Adaptations to Novel Environments in Terrestrial Vertebrates....Pages 127-141
Front Matter....Pages 145-146
Effects of Land Management Practices on Plant Invasions in Wildland Areas....Pages 147-162
Nitrogen Enrichment and Plant Invasions: the Importance of Nitrogen-Fixing Plants and Anthropogenic Eutrophication....Pages 163-180
From Ecosystem Invasibility to Local,Regional and Global Patterns of Invasive Species....Pages 181-196
Will Climate Change Promote Alien Plant Invasions?....Pages 197-211
Front Matter....Pages 214-216
Impacts of Invasive Species on Ecosystem Services....Pages 217-237
Biological Invasions by Marine Jellyfish....Pages 239-255
Effects of Invasive Non-Native Species on the Native Biodiversity in the River Rhine....Pages 257-273
Hybridization and Introgression Between Native and Alien Species....Pages 275-292
Genetically Modified Organisms as Invasive Species?....Pages 293-310
Front Matter....Pages 313-314
Plant,Animal, and Microbe Invasive Species in the United States and World....Pages 315-330
Socio-Economic Impact and Assessment of Biological Invasions....Pages 331-347
Front Matter....Pages 351-352
Economic Analysis of Invasive Species Policies....Pages 353-366
Front Matter....Pages 351-352
Phytosanitary Measures to Prevent the Introduction of Invasive Species....Pages 367-384
Limits and Potentialities of Eradication as a Tool for Addressing Biological Invasions....Pages 385-402
Pros and Cons of Biological Control....Pages 403-418
General Conclusion, or what Has to be Done now?....Pages 419-423
Back Matter....Pages 425-441

✦ Subjects

Animal Ecology; Plant Ecology; Conservation Biology/Ecology; Environmental Economics; Environmental Management; Biodiversity