Ecological explosions : the history of biological invasions and invasion science / Daniel Simberloff.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Simberloff, Daniel, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Biological invasions.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Chicago ; London : University of Chicago Press, 2026.

Summary:

A leading biologist offers a comprehensive and accessible history of invasive species science, from its earliest antecedents through its current research foci and controversies. From the arrival of the naval shipworm in the Black Sea in the first millennium BC to the escape of the Burmese python in Florida in 1992, humans have moved species to new locations, deliberately or inadvertently, for thousands of years. Agricultural and environmental impacts of some invasions were evident early, although whether observers recognized that the cause was an introduced species is uncertain. The history of invasion biology truly begins in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, when explorers noticed European species on various distant islands and in North America. In the nineteenth century, biogeographers, studying species distributions across the globe, introduced the first native and non-native species categorizations, and prominent researchers like Charles Darwin began to describe the impacts of introduced species. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as humans moved increasing numbers of species across the globe, the advent of modern ecology deepened our understanding of the scope of the problem. In Ecological Explosions, invasive species expert Daniel Simberloff provides a thorough overview of the development of invasion science, from early research--including from the perspectives of leading scientists like Aldo Leopold--to the field's future. Simberloff explores the work of pioneering ecologists like Charles Elton, antecedents of what became today's invasion biology, before discussing the field's true emergence in the 1980s, its explosive methodological and theoretical expansion, its integration with other disciplines, and its increasing visibility, not only within the biological literature but also in government policies across the world in the 1990s. Finally, he investigates current controversies, such as the debate over whether the entire science is xenophobic, and asks how ecosystems might adapt to a rapidly globalizing world and ever-increasing numbers of introduced species--including the joro spider, lionfish, spotted lanternfly, common reed, and Asian carp.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

1 Introduction

PART I People Move Species Around and Eventually Recognize Some Impacts

2 The Early Shuffling of the Biosphere

3 Early Recognition of the Extent of Invasions and Increasing Concern with Their Impacts

4 Mid-Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Invasions: Scientists Engage in Management

5 Late 18005 to Early 19005 The Trickle Becomes a Flood

6 Mid-Nineteenth- to Mid-Twentieth-Century Research, Often Forgotten, and Warnings, Largely Ignored

7 Mid-Twentieth Century: A False Start, and the Lead-Up to Modern Invasion Science

8 Geographers Study Invasions: A Largely Separate Endeavor

9 The SCOPE Project Jump-Starts Modern Invasion Science

10 Invasions Invade the Scientific and Popular Literature

PART II A Rapidly Growing Science Expands and Evolves

11 Invasion Science Embraces Evolution and Genetics

12 Impacts, from Populations and Communities to Ecosystems

13 Invasion Science Catches Two Ecology Waves

14 How Will Climate Change Affect Biological Invasions and Their Management

15 Hypotheses Explaining Biological Invasions Proliferate

16 Measuring, Ranking, and Predicting Invasion Impacts

17 Management of Biological Invasions

18 Controversies Abound

19 The Near Future of Invasion Science

Notes

Bibliography

Species Index

Subject Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (De Guyter Brill, viewed January 15, 2026).

Other Format:

Print version: Simberloff. Daniel, Ecological explosions,

ISBN:

9780226842585

0226842584

OCLC:

1564060513