Invasive species are non-native organisms that establish self-sustaining populations and spread beyond their initial introduction sites, causing or likely to cause significant ecological, economic, or health impacts. Research on invasive species examines pathways of introduction, propagule pressure, life-history traits that facilitate invasion (e.g., high reproductive rate, broad ecological tolerance), and interactions with native communities, including competition, predation, hybridization, and pathogen transmission. The topic also encompasses invasion stages (transport, introduction, establishment, spread), invasion ecology theory (e.g., enemy release, biotic resistance), risk assessment, and management strategies such as prevention, early detection, rapid response, and long-term control or eradication.
A comprehensive new review paper reveals the staggering loss of biodiversity among island land snails globally. Lead author Robert Cowie of the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 30, 2026
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108
Research in the Journal of Applied Ecology has identified threats to endangered plants in an urban area, generating information that can be used to guide effective conservation strategies across major cities. Investigators ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 28, 2026
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17
Satellite imagery and artificial intelligence can detect with high accuracy two invasive weed species in Australia, posing a new opportunity for defense against these pervasive plants.
Plants & Animals
Jan 20, 2026
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21
Insects are often seen as invaders due to high-profile species like the yellow-legged (Asian) hornet, the harlequin ladybird and fire ant. But new research reveals insects are also major victims of invasive alien species—exacerbating ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 15, 2026
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321
Lush homeowner gardens and thriving farms and nurseries across the globe are fighting a tiny invader considered one of the world's most damaging pests.
Plants & Animals
Jan 12, 2026
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83
A new study, published in the journal Science, reveals how millennia of human migration across Pacific islands led to the introduction of invasive pig species all over the Asia-Pacific region.
Ecology
Jan 1, 2026
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80
Scientists reveal that the scale of analysis determines whether invasive plants succeed by resembling or differing from native species, resolving decades of conflicting ecological evidence.
Plants & Animals
Dec 22, 2025
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16
A team of scientists at the University of Minnesota has uncovered the routes by which zebra mussels spread through Minnesota lakes, pointing to some surprising bodies of water that were the likely origins for the period of ...
Ecology
Dec 10, 2025
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14
For keen veggie growers and rose enthusiasts, aphids can be a real bane to your gardening dreams. These little insects are not only sap suckers—literally sucking the life out of plants—but they can also transmit toxins and ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Dec 9, 2025
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11
As small aquatic habitats disappear at an alarming rate, private garden ponds may help compensate for the loss of natural habitats and support biodiversity in urban areas. However, as these ponds become increasingly popular, ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 3, 2025
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25
