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Prehistoric mass invasions: The Great American Biotic Interchange www.sciencenews.org/article/mamm...

Mammals moving between the Americas stopped over in MexicoAncient mammals may have had an easier time moving across the Isthmus of Panama from north to south thanks to Mexico’s climate.www.sciencenews.org

"Ecology needs to develop, not swarms of mutually antagonistic theories..., but a new kind of comparative ecology that would bring them all into perspective. For unfortunately, Nature cannot be understood by pretending that it is simple." - Charles Elton, Animal Ecology (preface, 1965 ed.)

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/e...

Invasive fish are flooding the Mediterranean – and they are traveling north1,000 invasive species have been identified in the Mediterraneanwww.independent.co.uk

apnews.com/article/medi...

The Mediterranean's warming waters are drawing hundreds of invasive speciesScientists say climate change is heating the Mediterranean Sea, inviting invasive fish species that harm native populations.apnews.com

The authors calculated average impact severity of invasions for each country and found that it is higher in the Global South despite a reporting bias for the Global North. "Weak governance and limited management capacity are the main drivers of high impact severity." www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Invasive species’ environmental impacts are more severe in the Global SouthInvasive alien species (IAS) are a major threat to biodiversity, yet their impact distribution remains poorly understood. Global biodiversity assessments suggest the highest impacts in wealthy countri...www.science.org

Charles Elton (1927) defined ecology as "scientific natural history", recognizing that observing species in their environment is essential to understanding their distribution & abundance. This implies that experiments and modeling should be guided by - rather than exclude - field observations.

"Climate change emerged as a ubiquitous threat, being the dominant threat for 65% of all islands, followed by land-use change (22%) and biological invasions (13%)" I would be interested to know what kinds of synergistic interactions occur between these threats, if such information exists.

www.earth.com/news/scienti...

Scientists can now predict the next wave of fish invading the MediterraneanScientists developed a model that predicts the next invasive fish in the Mediterranean, identifying the species most likely to spread.www.earth.com

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Ships stuck in strait of Hormuz pose ‘super-spreader’ biodiversity threat, scientists warnBiologists say cargo ships stranded in Gulf may carry highly potent invasive species around the world as trade resumeswww.theguardian.com

Further contradicting the claim that invasive mussels have benefited the Great Lakes: Filtering activities of zebra & quagga mussels remove phytoplankton that the prey of lake whitefish feed on, setting off "a calamitous chain reaction further up the food chain." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

The Great Lakes’ most emblematic fish could be consigned to history booksA delicacy for centuries and a key part of Native tradition, the lake whitefish has seen its population crash. Researchers know why … but stopping it is another matterwww.theguardian.com

www.iflscience.com/how-these-in...

How These Invasive Snakes Led To Bird Extinctions And A Spider Explosion On An Island The Size Of ChicagoTheir genetics might also hold the clue to species conservation.www.iflscience.com

In his 1995 paper, "Necessity and chance: deterministic chaos in ecology and evolution", Robert May reminds us that very simple & fully deterministic rules can produce time series that look like random noise - and thus explain some complex biological phenomena. He ends the paper with enthusiasm:

www.scientificamerican.com/article/has-...

Has NASA already found life on Mars?In searches for past and present Martian life, some scientists say we’ve been too cautious to see what’s right in front of uswww.scientificamerican.com

Stranded ships are being fouled during the hottest months in the Gulf. "Warm waters rich in nutrients enable marine life to grow and reproduce at a rapid pace and form a more significant colony on a stationary ship." When ships leave, they'll carry many species. www.timesnownews.com/world/middle...

Over 1,5000 Ships Stranded, Why Strait of Hormuz Crisis Could Trigger an Ecological 'Superspreader Event'Scientists warn that ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could lead to a global ecological crisis as thousands of stationary vessels risk becoming carriers of invasive marine species. These or...www.timesnownews.com

Quote: "Experts warned governments the national fire ant eradication program needed at least $200m a year to stay ahead of the invasion. Governments chose to spend around $60 million instead. Starved of eradication resources, the fire ant infestation exploded by over 40 per cent."

Currently benign invaders do not always remain that way. Non-native "sleeper populations" can maintain low abundance (& low impact) for years or even decades - until triggered by an environmental factor (like climate change) to suddenly become invasive & disruptive. academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...

Ships spread marine species (mussels, barnacles, tubeworms, tunicates, algae, etc) attached to their hulls. The longer they are docked at a port, the greater the number & diversity of organisms that attach as settling larvae. The ship then disperses them to other ports. abcnews.com/Internationa...

Scientists warn of possible invasive species superspreader event due to stalling near Strait of HormuzA possible ecological catastrophe could be fueled by stalled ships as conflict over the Strait of Hormuz continues to block traffic on the passageway, scientists say.abcnews.com

My exploration into the background of a classic monograph written by one of the most influential figures in ecology remains a career highlight for me. Even more so because this book inspired me to view bioinvasions as a form of human-driven global change. I can't resist reposting the story.

In the 1960s, NATO scientists treated biodiversity as a strategic asset. Inspired by Charles Elton's ideas, these scientists viewed (correctly) complex ecosystems as being less vulnerable to disruption by the disturbance of warfare: www.nytimes.com/2013/05/30/o... ... 1/3🧵

Opinion | Ecology Lessons From the Cold War (Published 2013)Biodiversity was a survival strategy for the next global conflict.www.nytimes.com

I would add: Ideas from invasion ecology explain more than traditional concepts of bioinvasion, such as human health risk: Biotic resistance to gut infection is disrupted by disturbance (overuse of antibiotics) that reduces gut community diversity. 1/🧵... predirections.substack.com/p/ten-ideas-...

Ten ideas from ecology that help explain the worldEcology can teach us a lot about how the world workspredirections.substack.com