Non-native Species and Their Role in the Environment

The Need for a Broader Perspective

Radu Cornel Guiaşu (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

328 Seiten

2016
Brill (Verlag)
978-90-04-17266-1 (ISBN)

Artikel merken

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.

Dr. Radu Guiaşu, 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 Guiaşu 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.

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

Erscheinungsdatum	26.08.2016
Verlagsort	Leiden
Sprache	englisch
Maße	155 x 235 mm
Gewicht	626 g
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
ISBN-10	90-04-17266-1 / 9004172661
ISBN-13	978-90-04-17266-1 / 9789004172661
Zustand	Neuware