Species Invasions: Insights into Ecology, Evolution, and Biogeography

by Dov F. Sax, John J. Stachowicz, Steven D. Gaines

Overview

Species invasions present significant conservation challenges, but they also provide invaluable information about the functioning of natural systems. In this edited book, experts from the fields of ecology, evolution, and biogeography explore the unique insights species invasions provide. Several key advances emerge in each discipline, and collectively they provide a template for new research that transforms invasion biology into a powerful tool for basic research in ecology, evolution, and biogeography.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780878938117
Publisher:	Sinauer Associates is an imprint of Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/15/2005
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	495
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 7.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Dov F. Sax is Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Center for Environmental Studies at Brown University.

John J. Stachowicz is Professor of Evolution and Ecology and Director of the Center for Population Biology at the University of California, Davis.

Steven D. Gaines is Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology and Director of the Marine Science Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Table of Contents

Part I. Insights into Ecology

Insights into Biotic Interactions from Studies of Species Invasions, John F. Bruno, Jason D. Fridley, Keryn D. Bromberg, and Mark D. Bertness

*Species Invasions and the Relationships between Species Diversity, Community Saturation, and Ecosystem Functioning, John J. Stachowicz and David Tilman

*Plant Species Effects on Ecosystem Processes: Insights from Invasive Species, Carla M. D'Antonio and Sarah E. Hobbie

*Biological Invasions and the Loss of Birds on Islands: Insights into the Idiosyncrasies of Extinction, Tim M. Blackburn and Kevin J. Gaston

*The Role of Infectious Diseases in Natural Communities: What Introduced Species Tell Us, Kevin D. Lafferty, Katherine. F. Smith, Mark E. Torchin, Andy P. Dobson, and Armand M. Kuris


Part II. Insights into Evolution

Using Invasive Species to Study Evolution: Case Studies with Drosophila and Salmon, Raymond B. Huey, George W. Gilchrist, and Andrew P. Hendry

*Taxon Cycles: Insights from Invasive Species, Robert E. Ricklefs

*Genetic Bottlenecks in Alien Plant Species: Influence of Mating Systems and Introduction Dynamics, Stephen J. Novak and Richard N. Mack

*Mechanisms That Drive Evolutionary Change: Insights from Species Introductions and Invasions, John P. Wares, A. Randall Hughes, and Richard K. Grosberg

*Theories of Niche Conservatism and Evolution: Could Exotic Species Be Potential Tests? Robert D. Holt, Michael Barfield, and Richard Gomulkiewicz

*Testing Fundamental Evolutionary Questions at Large Spatial and Demographic Scales: Species Invasions as an Underappreciated Tool, William R. Rice and Dov F. Sax


Part III. Insights into Biogeography

Invasion as Expectation: A Historical Fact of Life, Geerat J. Vermeij

*Evolutionary Trajectories in Plant and Soil Microbial Communities: Centaurea Invasions and the Geographic Mosaic of Coevolution, Ragan M. Callaway, José L. Hierro, and Andrea S. Thorpe

*Community Composition and Homogenization: Evenness and Abundance of Native and Exotic Plant Species, Michael L. McKinney and Julie L. Lockwood

*Rates of Population Spread and Geographic Range Expansion: What Exotic Species Tell Us, Brian P. Kinlan and Alan Hastings

*Distribution and Abundance: Scaling Patterns in Exotic and Native Bird Species, Fabio A. Labra, Sebastián R. Abades, and Pablo M. Marquet

*The Dynamics of Species Invasions: Insights into the Mechanisms That Limit Species Diversity, Dov F. Sax, James H. Brown, Ethan P. White, and Steven D. Gaines

*Capstone: Where Do We Go from Here? Dov F. Sax, John J. Stachowicz, and Steven D. Gaines

Editorial Reviews

"Well-written, well-organized, informative, and thought-provoking, this book should be a welcome addition to the shelves of ecologists, evolutionary biologists, biogeographers, and applied invasion scientists alike."
—A. N. van Buren and P. Dee Boersma, Integrative and Comparative Biology

"Species Invasions offers a fine compendium of ideas and examples that will be valuable to students for the number of doors it opens to scores of subdisciplines within ecology. For professionals, it represents a state-of-the-art overview of the issues involved in invasion biology."
—Michael J. Crawley, Science

"Species Invasions is sure to stimulate thought and productive research across a wide range of fields."
—Laura Foster Huenneke, Ecology

"This is a good book, and one worth buying. There is much to mine here, and even seasoned invasion biologists will find new juxtapositions to ponder. For those invasions for which we do have data, Species Invasions provides a wealth of good thinking."
—James T. Carlton, BioScience

"This volume would make an excellent starting point for a graduate class in biological invasions. The chapters are well distributed among topics and would provide minds on the edge of diving into research with a fertile foundation."
—Sarah Reichard, The Quarterly Review of Biology

"This book is not light reading; the subject material is complex and challenging. My initial impression was that the book would appeal to a narrow audience. However, I discovered broad implications for a variety of research areas; one need not be an 'invasion biologist' to draw insights and inferences from this work. I therefore recommend the text as interesting reading material for those involved in research areas such as climate change, ecology, physiology, genetics and biodiversity."
—Colin Templeton, The Forestry Chronicle

"Well-written, informative, and idea-generating. I recommend this book to anyone seeking new perspectives on invasion theory, including researchers with both applied and basic questions about native and exotic colonizers and invaders."
—Cynthia D. Huebner, Landscape Ecology

From the Publisher