Alien Mammals of Europe

Genovesi, Piero; Bacher, Sven; Kobelt, Manuel; Pascal, Michel; Scalerà, Riccardo

doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-8280-1_9

Cited by 57 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…This inertia implies that the consequences of the current socioeconomic activity on the extent of biological invasions will not be completely realized until several decades into the future. This finding should not discourage ongoing European (20,32,33) and global initiatives (34) to tackle invasions. In the long term, a more precise identification and a better control of taxon-specific highrisk introduction pathways and a general reduction of propagule pressure will certainly be key to managing the problems arising from biological invasions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Socioeconomic legacy yields an invasion debt

Essl

Dullinger

Rabitsch

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Globalization and economic growth are widely recognized as important drivers of biological invasions. Consequently, there is an increasing need for governments to address the role of international trade in their strategies to prevent species introductions. However, many of the most problematic alien species are not recent arrivals but were introduced several decades ago. Hence, current patterns of alien-species richness may better reflect historical rather than contemporary human activities, a phenomenon which might be called "invasion debt." Here, we show that across 10 taxonomic groups (vascular plants, bryophytes, fungi, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, terrestrial insects, and aquatic invertebrates) in 28 European countries, current numbers of alien species established in the wild are indeed more closely related to indicators of socioeconomic activity from the year 1900 than to those from 2000, although the majority of species introductions occurred during the second half of the 20th century. The strength of the historical signal varies among taxonomic groups, with those possessing good capabilities for dispersal (birds, insects) more strongly associated with recent socioeconomic drivers. Nevertheless, our results suggest a considerable historical legacy for the majority of the taxa analyzed. The consequences of the current high levels of socioeconomic activity on the extent of biological invasions will thus probably not be completely realized until several decades into the future.exotic plants and animals | species establishment | time lag

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Socioeconomic legacy yields an invasion debt

Essl

Dullinger

Rabitsch

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

458

416

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…by the pet trade, the live food trade, or as stock for the trade in fur pelts [9,[31][32][33]. Although some of these pathways have been modified and restricted to reduce the risk of invasion, many remain very active.…”

Section: Terrestrial Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although some of these pathways have been modified and restricted to reduce the risk of invasion, many remain very active. For example, the pet trade remains a dominant pathway for the introduction of new invasive species to Europe [31,32].…”

Section: Terrestrial Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Invasive species in Europe: ecology, status, and policy

et al. 2011

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Globalization of trade and travel has facilitated the spread of non-native species across the earth. A proportion of these species become established and cause serious environmental, economic, and human health impacts. These species are referred to as invasive, and are now recognized as one of the major drivers of biodiversity change across the globe. As a long-time centre for trade, Europe has seen the introduction and subsequent establishment of at least several thousand non-native species. These range in taxonomy from viruses and bacteria to fungi, plants, and animals. Although invasive species cause major negative impacts across all regions of Europe, they also offer scientists the opportunity to develop and test theory about how species enter and leave communities, how nonnative and native species interact with each other, and how different types of species affect ecosystem functions. For these reasons, there has been recent growth in the field of invasion biology as scientists work to understand the process of invasion, the changes that invasive species cause to their recipient ecosystems, and the ways that the problems of invasive species can be reduced. This review covers the process and drivers of species invasions in Europe, the socio-economic factors that make some regions particularly strongly invaded, and the ecological factors that make some species particularly invasive. We describe the impacts of invasive species in Europe, the difficulties involved in reducing these impacts, and explain the policy options currently being considered. We outline the reasons that invasive species create unique policy challenges, and suggest some rules of thumb for designing and implementing management programs. If new management programs are not enacted in Europe, it is inevitable that more invasive species will arrive, and that the total economic, environmental, and human health impacts from these species will continue to grow.

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“…Finally, the wood mouse is an opportunistic species that accompanied human travels during prehistorical and historical times (Genovesi et al 2009). It thus colonized many islands, where it displays cases of pronounced phenotypic evolution (Renaud 2005;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%