Two decades of data reveal that Biological Invasions needs to increase participation beyond North America, Europe, and Australasia

Núñez, Martín A.; Chiuffo, Mariana C.; Seebens, Hanno; Kuebbing, Sara E.; McCary, Matthew A.; Lieurance, Deah; Zhang, Bo; Simberloff, Daniel; Meyerson, Laura A.

doi:10.1007/s10530-021-02666-6

Cited by 21 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(13 reference statements)

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“…Developing effective management and eradication strategies to mitigate the socioeconomic and ecological impacts of species invasion is dependent upon accurate mapping of species distribution (Nagendra 2018). However, reliable descriptions of biological invasions in developing economies are limited (Nuñez et al 2021). Here, we used publicly available online new stories to document the distribution of a wide-spread, economically-important invasive species in Bangladesh.…”

Section: Discussion Of Signimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Published descriptions of biological invasions in poorer countries are relatively limited (Nuñez et al 2021), though no region of the globe appears to be free from the risk of invasion (Hughes et al 2020). In lower-income economies, public awareness of species invasions and the ability of the scienti c community to identify and monitor invasions has been limited (Nuñez, Pauchard 2010), and this has implications for early warning and rapid response which are essential in controlling the spread of invasive species (Pysek et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Promoting community-based surveillance of economically important invasive species in lower-income economies: a case study of the suckermouth catfish (Pterygoplichthys pardalis) in Bangladesh

2023

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The distribution of invasive species in lower-income economies is relatively poorly understood, and many countries do not actively curate a list of species invasions or have programs to monitor or mitigate the effects of non-native species within their borders. Methods leveraging new technologies and expanding access to the internet may offer the opportunity to support low-cost and large-scale monitoring efforts. Here, we demonstrate how the use of online news coverage can support initial attempts to map the distribution of an economically-important, non-naïve freshwater sh in Bangladesh (Ptergoplichthys sp.). By initiating new collaborations between the scienti c and online journalism communities, governments and organizations may be able to enhance their abilities to map the distribution of non-native species and develop new programs to support public awareness of species invasion at relatively low cost.

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Section: Discussion Of Signimentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting community-based surveillance of economically important invasive species in lower-income economies: a case study of the suckermouth catfish (Pterygoplichthys pardalis) in Bangladesh

2023

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“…While invasive plant research is well represented in the general area of invasion biology (Pyšek et al, 2008 ), key areas within invasive plant research may be greatly underrepresented. Typical of many fields in ecology, the literature has historically been dominated by wealthier and developed countries (i.e., the Global North: America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand), with a strong resultant bias in temperate ecosystems (Chong et al, 2021 ; Nuñez et al, 2022 ; Pyšek et al, 2008 ; Weidlich et al, 2020 ). As such, a recent analysis by Nuñez et al ( 2022 ) found that a vast majority of all papers published within Biological Invasions were published by USA or European‐based scientists.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Typical of many fields in ecology, the literature has historically been dominated by wealthier and developed countries (i.e., the Global North: America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand), with a strong resultant bias in temperate ecosystems (Chong et al, 2021 ; Nuñez et al, 2022 ; Pyšek et al, 2008 ; Weidlich et al, 2020 ). As such, a recent analysis by Nuñez et al ( 2022 ) found that a vast majority of all papers published within Biological Invasions were published by USA or European‐based scientists. Correspondingly, there is relatively widespread awareness of the harms that invasive plants can do in the temperate zone.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, researchers may tend to prefer to study ecosystems which are more local or familiar to them, which may contribute to such biases. In particular, Nuñez et al ( 2022 ) found that that most of the invasion biology manuscripts that were submitted, reviewed, or accepted for the journal “ Biological Invasions ” arose from wealthier temperate regions, such the North America, Europe, and Australasia. There may also be biases in the types of plants being studied (Weidlich et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trends in the direction of global plant invasion biology research over the past two decades

Chiu

Chong

Lum

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Invasive plants are a growing ecological problem worldwide, but biases and patterns within invasive plant research may affect our understanding of invasive plant ecology.In this study, we analyzed 458 invasive plant papers sampled from the two journals dedicated entirely to the field of invasion biology, i.e., Biological Invasions and Neobiota.From these papers, we collected information on geographic coverage, climate, habitat, taxonomic coverage, plant functional type, and research topic to examine trends across a 21-year time period from 1999 to 2020. Our analysis found that invasive plant research was consistently biased toward temperate grassland and forest ecosystems particularly within the Americas, Europe, and Australia, and toward smaller, herbaceous invasive plant species (i.e., forbs, grasses, and shrubs), with an increase in interest in invasive nitrogen-fixing legumes over time. Our analysis also identified "hot" research topics in invasive plant research at specific time periods, such as a peak in the use of genetic analysis methods in 2014-2015 and a more recent focus on plant physiological and functional traits. While current models, concepts, and understanding of plant invasion ecology are still driven by such biases, this has been partially offset by recent increased research in understudied systems, as well as increasing awareness that plant invasion is heavily affected by their growth types, physiological traits, and soil interactions. As the field of invasion biology becomes ever increasingly important over time, focusing invasive plant research on understudied ecosystems and plant groups will allow us to develop a more holistic understanding of the ecology of invasive plants. In particular, given the outsized importance of the tropics to global biodiversity, the threats they face, and the dearth of studies, it is of critical importance that more invasive plant research is conducted within the tropics to develop a more globally representative understanding of invasive plant ecology.

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Constructing a database of alien plants in the Himalaya to test patterns structuring diversity

Rana,

Dangwal,

Rawat

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Differences in the number of alien plant species in different locations may reflect climatic and other controls that similarly affect native species and/or propagule pressure accompanied with delayed spread from the point of introduction. We set out to examine these alternatives for Himalayan plants, in a phylogenetic framework. We build a database of alien plant distributions for the Himalaya. Focusing on the well‐documented regions of Jammu & Kashmir (west) and Bhutan (east) we compare alien and native species for (1) richness patterns, (2) degree of phylogenetic clustering, (3) the extent to which species‐poor regions are subsets of species‐rich regions and (4) continental and climatic affinities/source. We document 1470 alien species (at least 600 naturalised), which comprise ~14% of the vascular plants known from the Himalaya. Alien plant species with tropical affinities decline in richness with elevation and species at high elevations form a subset of those at lower elevations, supporting location of introduction as an important driver of alien plant richness patterns. Separately, elevations which are especially rich in native plant species are also rich in alien plant species, suggesting an important role for climate (high productivity) in determining both native and alien richness. We find no support for the proposition that variance in human disturbance or numbers of native species correlate with alien distributions. Results imply an ongoing expansion of alien species from low elevation sources, some of which are highly invasive.

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Two decades of data reveal that Biological Invasions needs to increase participation beyond North America, Europe, and Australasia

Cited by 21 publications

References 17 publications

Promoting community-based surveillance of economically important invasive species in lower-income economies: a case study of the suckermouth catfish (Pterygoplichthys pardalis) in Bangladesh

Promoting community-based surveillance of economically important invasive species in lower-income economies: a case study of the suckermouth catfish (Pterygoplichthys pardalis) in Bangladesh

Trends in the direction of global plant invasion biology research over the past two decades

Constructing a database of alien plants in the Himalaya to test patterns structuring diversity

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