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1. Reciprocal human-natural system feedback loops within the invasion process

   https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.62.52664  

   Sinclair, James S.; Brown, Jeffrey A.; Lockwood, Julie L. (October 2020, NeoBiota)

   null (Ed.)

   Biological invasions are inextricably linked to how people collect, move, interact with and perceive non-native species. However, invasion frameworks generally do not consider reciprocal interactions between non-native species and people. Non-native species can shape human actions via beneficial or detrimental ecological and socioeconomic effects and people, in turn, shape invasions through their movements, behaviour and how they respond to the collection, transport, introduction and spread of non-natives. The feedbacks that stem from this ‘coupled human and natural system’ (CHANS) could therefore play a key role in mitigating (i.e. negative feedback loops) or exacerbating (i.e. positive feedback loops) ongoing and future invasions. We posit that the invasion process could be subdivided into three CHANS that span from the source region from which non-natives originate to the recipient region in which they establish and spread. We also provide specific examples of feedback loops that occur within each CHANS that have either reduced or facilitated new introductions and spread of established non-native species. In so doing, we add to exisiting invasion frameworks to generate new hypotheses about human-based drivers of biological invasions and further efforts to determine how ecological outcomes feed back into human actions. 

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2. Are Terrestrial Biological Invasions Different in the Tropics?

   https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-012021-095454  

   Chong, Kwek Yan; Corlett, Richard T.; Nuñez, Martin A.; Chiu, Jing Hua; Courchamp, Franck; Dawson, Wayne; Kuebbing, Sara; Liebhold, Andrew M.; Padmanaba, Michael; Souza, Lara; et al (November 2021, Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics)

   Most biological invasion literature—including syntheses and meta-analyses and the resulting theory—is reported from temperate regions, drawing only minimally from the tropics except for some island systems. The lack of attention to invasions in the tropics results from and reinforces the assumption that tropical ecosystems, and especially the continental tropics, are more resistant to invasions. We have critically assessed biological invasions in the tropics and compared them with temperate regions, finding relatively weak evidence that tropical and temperate regions differ in their invasibility and in the traits that determine invader success and impacts. Propagule pressure and the traits that promote adaptation to disturbances (e.g., high fecundity or fast growth rates) are generally favorable to invasions in both tropical and temperate regions. We emphasize the urgent need for greater investment and regional cooperation in the study, prevention, and management of biological invasions in the tropics. 

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3. Environmental DNA reveals patterns of biological invasion in an inland sea

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281525  

   Duprey, Joe; Gallego, Ramón; Klinger, Terrie; Kelly, Ryan P (December 2023, PLOS ONE)

   Doi, Hideyuki (Ed.)

   Non-native species have the potential to cause ecological and economic harm to coastal and estuarine ecosystems. Understanding which habitat types are most vulnerable to biological invasions, where invasions originate, and the vectors by which they arrive can help direct limited resources to prevent or mitigate ecological and socio-economic harm. Information about the occurrence of non-native species can help guide interventions at all stages of invasion, from first introduction, to naturalization and invasion. However, monitoring at relevant scales requires considerable investment of time, resources, and taxonomic expertise. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding methods sample coastal ecosystems at broad spatial and temporal scales to augment established monitoring methods. We use COI mtDNA eDNA sampling to survey a diverse assemblage of species across distinct habitats in the Salish Sea in Washington State, USA, and classify each as non-native, native, or indeterminate in origin. The non-native species detected include both well-documented invaders and species not previously reported within the Salish Sea. We find a non-native assemblage dominated by shellfish and algae with native ranges in the temperate western Pacific, and find more-retentive estuarine habitats to be invaded at far higher levels than better-flushed rocky shores. Furthermore, we find an increase in invasion level with higher water temperatures in spring and summer across habitat types. This analysis contributes to a growing understanding of the biotic and abiotic factors that influence invasion level, and underscores the utility of eDNA surveys to monitor biological invasions and to better understand the factors that drive these invasions. 

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4. Population genomic and historical analysis suggests a global invasion by bridgehead processes in Mimulus guttatus

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-01795-x  

   Vallejo-Marín, Mario; Friedman, Jannice; Twyford, Alex D.; Lepais, Olivier; Ickert-Bond, Stefanie M.; Streisfeld, Matthew A.; Yant, Levi; van Kleunen, Mark; Rotter, Michael C.; Puzey, Joshua R. (December 2021, Communications Biology)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract Imperfect historical records and complex demographic histories present challenges for reconstructing the history of biological invasions. Here, we combine historical records, extensive worldwide and genome-wide sampling, and demographic analyses to investigate the global invasion of Mimulus guttatus from North America to Europe and the Southwest Pacific. By sampling 521 plants from 158 native and introduced populations genotyped at >44,000 loci, we determined that invasive M. guttatus was first likely introduced to the British Isles from the Aleutian Islands (Alaska), followed by admixture from multiple parts of the native range. We hypothesise that populations in the British Isles then served as a bridgehead for vanguard invasions worldwide. Our results emphasise the highly admixed nature of introduced M. guttatus and demonstrate the potential of introduced populations to serve as sources of secondary admixture, producing novel hybrids. Unravelling the history of biological invasions provides a starting point to understand how invasive populations adapt to novel environments. 

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5. Novel chemicals engender myriad invasion mechanisms

   https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17685  

   Inderjit; Simberloff, Daniel; Kaur, Harleen; Kalisz, Susan; Bezemer, T. Martijn (September 2021, New Phytologist)

   Summary Non‐native invasive species (NIS) release chemicals into the environment that are unique to the invaded communities, defined as novel chemicals. Novel chemicals impact competitors, soil microbial communities, mutualists, plant enemies, and soil nutrients differently than in the species’ native range. Ecological functions of novel chemicals and differences in functions between the native and non‐native ranges of NIS are of immense interest to ecologists. Novel chemicals can mediate different ecological, physiological, and evolutionary mechanisms underlying invasion hypotheses. Interactions amongst the NIS and resident species including competitors, soil microbes, and plant enemies, as well as abiotic factors in the invaded community are linked to novel chemicals. However, we poorly understand how these interactions might enhance NIS performance. New empirical data and analyses of how novel chemicals act in the invaded community will fill major gaps in our understanding of the chemistry of biological invasions. A novel chemical‐invasion mechanism framework shows how novel chemicals engender invasion mechanisms beyond plant–plant or plant–microorganism interactions. 

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