Invasion biology and management: Progress, problems, and polemics

Modern invasion biology is a young field, beginning in the 1980s. Nevertheless, we now know of drastic impacts of hundreds of invaders. They eat native species, overgrow them, outcompete them, infect them, hybridize with them, and have myriad other impacts. Impacts affecting entire ecosystems have been increasingly documented, particularly as ecological research on aboveground-belowground interactions has increased.

Despite this hecatomb, the past few years have seen several criticisms of the field of invasion biology and management. Among other bones of contention, critics charge that the field is infected with xenophobia, claim that the damage caused by biological invasions is overblown, and argue that, even if effects of biological invasions are substantial, we can’t do much about the phenomenon in the face of globalization, so we shouldn’t waste our resources trying. These criticisms are misguided. In particular, successful management projects (including eradications) are proliferating. In this lecture, Prof. Daniel Simberloff will discuss evolving new approaches (and a growing controversy surrounding one of them) and ambitious goals as well as potential impediments.

This event is part of weekly lecture series in the Department of Biology. Learn more.