Invasion Science: A Horizon Scan of Emerging Challenges and Opportunities

Anthony Ricciardi; Tim M Blackburn; James T Carlton; Jaimie T A Dick; Philip E Hulme; Josephine C Iacarella; Jonathan M Jeschke; Andrew M Liebhold; Julie L Lockwood; Hugh J MacIsaac; Petr Pyšek; David M Richardson; Gregory M Ruiz; Daniel Simberloff; William J Sutherland; David A Wardle; David C Aldridge

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2017.03.007

Invasion Science: A Horizon Scan of Emerging Challenges and Opportunities

Trends Ecol Evol. 2017 Jun;32(6):464-474. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2017.03.007. Epub 2017 Apr 7.

Authors

Anthony Ricciardi¹, Tim M Blackburn², James T Carlton³, Jaimie T A Dick⁴, Philip E Hulme⁵, Josephine C Iacarella⁶, Jonathan M Jeschke⁷, Andrew M Liebhold⁸, Julie L Lockwood⁹, Hugh J MacIsaac¹⁰, Petr Pyšek¹¹, David M Richardson¹², Gregory M Ruiz¹³, Daniel Simberloff¹⁴, William J Sutherland¹⁵, David A Wardle¹⁶, David C Aldridge¹⁷

Affiliations

¹ Redpath Museum, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 0C4, Canada; Workshop organizers.. Electronic address: tony.ricciardi@mcgill.ca.
² Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK; Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK.
³ Maritime Studies Program, Williams College-Mystic Seaport, 75 Greenmanville, Mystic, CT 06355, USA.
⁴ Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, MBC, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL, UK.
⁵ Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University, PO Box 85840, Lincoln 7647, Canterbury, New Zealand.
⁶ University of Victoria, Biology Department, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada.
⁷ Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany; Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 1-3, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
⁸ US Forest Service Northern Research Station, 180 Canfield St., Morgantown, WV, USA.
⁹ Rutgers University, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, 14 College Farm, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
¹⁰ Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, ONT, N9B 3P4, Canada.
¹¹ Institute of Botany, The Czech Academy of Sciences, CZ-252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic; Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ-12844 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
¹² Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology Stellenbosch University, Matieland 7602, South Africa.
¹³ Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD 21037, USA.
¹⁴ University of Tennessee, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
¹⁵ Cambridge University, Department of Zoology, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK.
¹⁶ Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE901-83 Umeå, Sweden; Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore.
¹⁷ Cambridge University, Department of Zoology, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK; Workshop organizers.

PMID: 28395941
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2017.03.007

Abstract

We identified emerging scientific, technological, and sociopolitical issues likely to affect how biological invasions are studied and managed over the next two decades. Issues were ranked according to their probability of emergence, pervasiveness, potential impact, and novelty. Top-ranked issues include the application of genomic modification tools to control invasions, effects of Arctic globalization on invasion risk in the Northern Hemisphere, commercial use of microbes to facilitate crop production, the emergence of invasive microbial pathogens, and the fate of intercontinental trade agreements. These diverse issues suggest an expanding interdisciplinary role for invasion science in biosecurity and ecosystem management, burgeoning applications of biotechnology in alien species detection and control, and new frontiers in the microbial ecology of invasions.

Keywords: Arctic globalization; gene drives; global change; invasive species; microbial ecology; rapid evolution.

MeSH terms

Ecosystem*
Introduced Species*