Introduced species, as a biological process, refers to the human-mediated translocation and establishment of organisms outside their native geographic ranges, thereby altering biotic community composition and ecosystem dynamics. This process involves transport (intentional or accidental), release or escape, survival, and reproduction in the recipient environment, often bypassing natural dispersal barriers. Once established, introduced species may undergo rapid ecological and evolutionary responses, including niche shifts, adaptation to novel conditions, and altered interaction networks (e.g., predation, competition, mutualism). The process of species introduction can drive changes in community structure, energy flow, and biogeochemical cycles, and in some cases leads to biological invasions with significant impacts on native biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
Once hailed as a solution to Ethiopia's creeping desertification, a foreign tree is now spreading uncontrollably across the East African nation, threatening fragile ecosystems and the very survival of local communities.
Ecology
Nov 12, 2025
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233
Over time, non-native plant species increasingly integrate into native food webs. Their region of origin or relatedness to native plants plays only a minor role. Far more decisive is how widely they have spread and how long ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 11, 2025
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17
As the world becomes more interconnected, some plants have benefited from a greater ease in movement from one region to another, while some have become problematic. Some introduced species gain a competitive edge, spreading ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 20, 2025
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17
On islands, many plants rely on animals such as birds, bats and reptiles to disperse their seeds and help them grow in new places. When native animals go extinct, this naturally reduces seed dispersal.
Plants & Animals
Oct 8, 2025
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145
Sri Lanka urged people on Saturday to catch and cook invasive fish species, including the giant snakehead and piranhas, that threaten fragile freshwater ecosystems and are now banned.
Ecology
Sep 20, 2025
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392
The spread of species beyond their native habitat is a human-made environmental change on a global scale. Among vascular plants, over 16,000 species have now permanently settled in foreign countries. The majority of these ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 8, 2025
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27
Because their relative isolation encourages speciation, oceanic islands are hotspots of biodiversity. Yet their relatively small size, atypically defenseless animals and plants, and ecological vulnerability to the effects ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 5, 2025
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32
Researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed that water availability combined with phosphorus limitation or herbivory created an advantage for alien plant species ...
Ecology
Jul 10, 2025
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27
A striking, silver-colored fish commonly kept as an aquarium pet has been hiding in plain sight in the Philippines' largest freshwater lake, renewing concerns over the unmonitored and unmitigated release of alien species ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 1, 2025
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98
A research team led by Professor Eiji Inoue from the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Toho University have conducted a study on the Japanese weasel (Mustela itatsi). The Japanese weasel is an endemic species to ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 13, 2025
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27
