Invasive Species in a Changing World
Bullfrogs and buffelgrass in the American Southwest, Scandinavian pine trees in South Africa, exotic snails in San Francisco Bay and the Thames River: invasive species are increasing at an exponential rate throughout the world, driving native species from their former domains and threatening to create a homogenous global environment populated by only a few hardy plants and animals.This hard-hitting collection of scientific essays addresses the mechanisms by which these invasions have taken place, all largely owing to what the editors call the "breakdown of the major biogeographic barriers that have historically kept the floras and faunas of the various continents quite distinctive." That breakdown, the result of several causes as unconnected as rapid jet travel and global warming, has led not only to the unimpeded transmittal of pests and weeds into disturbed environments, but also to the increasingly rapid spread of once-alien infectious diseases such as Ebola and encephalitis, which can be considered invasive species of another kind. The costs of such invasions, in the long term and the short term, are immense, as many of the contributors note. Still, the editors urge, the problem must be addressed immediately, and on a global level, inasmuch as invasive species "stand to affect not only the basic ecosystem services on which human life depends, but also virtually all aspects of life on the planet."Alarming without being alarmist, the collection is of considerable interest to researchers in several scientific disciplines, and it is accessible to general readers with an interest in ecology.--Gregory McNamee