Overview

A leading biologist offers a comprehensive and accessible history of invasive species science, from its earliest antecedents through its current research foci and controversies. From the arrival of the naval shipworm in the Black Sea in the first millennium BCE to the escape of the Burmese python in Florida in 1992, humans have moved species to new locations, deliberately or inadvertently, for thousands of years. Agricultural and environmental impacts of some invasions were evident early, although whether observers recognized that the cause was an introduced species is uncertain. The history of invasion biology truly begins in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, when explorers noticed European species on various distant islands and in North America. In the nineteenth century, biogeographers, studying species distributions across the globe, introduced the first native and non-native species categorizations, and prominent researchers like Charles Darwin began to describe the impacts of introduced species. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as humans moved increasing numbers of species across the globe, the advent of modern ecology deepened our understanding of the scope of the problem. In Ecological Explosions, invasive species expert Daniel Simberloff provides a thorough overview of the development of invasion science, from early research—including from the perspectives of leading scientists like Aldo Leopold—to the field's future. Simberloff explores the work of pioneering ecologists like Charles Elton, antecedents of what became today's invasion biology, before discussing the field's true emergence in the 1980s, its explosive methodological and theoretical expansion, its integration with other disciplines, and its increasing visibility, not only within the biological literature but also in government policies across the world in the 1990s. Finally, he investigates current controversies, such as the debate over whether the entire science is xenophobic, and asks how ecosystems might adapt to a rapidly globalizing world and ever-increasing numbers of introduced species—including the joro spider, lionfish, spotted lanternfly, phragmites, and Asian carp.

Full Product Details

Author:   Daniel Simberloff
Publisher:   The University of Chicago Press
Imprint:   University of Chicago Press
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 4.60cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   1.247kg
ISBN:  

9780226842578

ISBN 10:   0226842576
Pages:   640
Publication Date:   16 January 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Awaiting stock  
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Table of Contents

Preface Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1. Definitional Matters: Invasive, Invasion, Naturalized, Introduced, Native, Non-Native, Alien   Part I. People Move Species Around and Eventually Recognize Some Impacts Chapter 2. The Early Shuffling of the Biosphere 2.1. Terrestrial Introductions in Prehistory and Antiquity 2.2. Prehistoric and Ancient Historical Aquatic Introductions 2.3. Early Historical Introductions   Chapter 3. Early Recognition of the Extent of Invasions and Increasing Concern with Their Impacts 3.1. The Science of Biogeography: Which Species Are Where, and Where Are They Native? 3.2. What About Impacts of Invasions? 3.3. Classifying Species: Which Are Native and Which Are Not? 3.4. A Prescient Person Far from the Mainstream: George Perkins Marsh   Chapter 4. Mid-Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Invasions: Scientists Engage in Management 4.1. European Rabbit in Australia 4.2. Phylloxera in France 4.3. Cottony Cushion Scale, the Vedalia Beetle, and a Fly in California 4.4. Spongy Moth in Massachusetts 4.5. Small Indian Mongoose in the West Indies and Beyond 4.6. Water Hyacinth in Florida 4.7. White Pine Blister Rust in North America 4.8. Chestnut Blight in Eastern North America   Chapter 5. Late 1800s to Early 1900s: The Trickle Becomes a Flood 5.1. Acclimatization Societies 5.2. Fish 5.3. Birds 5.4. Mammals 5.5. Reptiles and Amphibians 5.6. Plants   Chapter 6. Mid-Nineteenth- to Mid-Twentieth-Century Research, Often Forgotten, and Warnings, Largely Ignored 6.1. North America 6.2. Europe 6.3. New Zealand 6.4. Soviet Union   Chapter 7. Mid-Twentieth Century: A False Start, and the Lead-Up to Modern Invasion Science 7.1. Charles S. Elton and His Invasion Book 7.2. New Invasions, Popular Books, and Reviews of Particular Invasive Biotas 7.3. A Study Ahead of Its Time 7.4. The Environmental Movement 7.5. A New Conservation Science   Chapter 8. Geographers Study Invasions: A Largely Separate Endeavor 8.1. Increasing Interest in Biological Invasions 8.2. Two Geographers Interact More Strongly with Biologists 8.3. A Twentieth-Century Luminary Recognized by Invasion Scientists 8.4. Geographers Continue to Mine Biological Invasions   Chapter 9. The SCOPE Project Jump-Starts Modern Invasion Science 9.1. The SCOPE Programme on the Ecology of Biological Invasions 9.2. A Gap in the SCOPE Program, and GISP, a Sequel 9.3. A Controversial Analogy: Genetically Modified Organisms 9.4. What Does “Global” Mean, Really?   Chapter 10. Invasions Invade the Scientific and Popular Literature 10.1. Newsletters and Journals 10.2. College Textbooks 10.3. Popular Books   Part II. A Rapidly Growing Science Expands and Evolves Chapter 11. Invasion Science Embraces Evolution and Genetics 11.1. Early Research on Evolution of Non-Native Species 11.2. Advances in Molecular Genetic Technologies 11.3. Evolution and Invasion Science in the Modern Era   Chapter 12. Impacts, from Populations and Communities to Ecosystems 12.1. Ecological Impacts at the Population Level 12.2. Community-Level Impacts 12.3. Ecosystem Impacts 12.4. Ecosystem Services and Ecosystem Impacts 12.5. Ecosystem Impacts, Microbial Ecology, and Soil Communities   Chapter 13. Invasion Science Catches Two Ecology Waves 13.1. Meta-Analysis Enters Invasion Science 13.2. Networks Are Increasingly Depicted and Analyzed   Chapter 14. How Will Climate Change Affect Biological Invasions and Their Management? 14.1. Climate Science Recognizes Anthropogenic Global Warming 14.2. Ecological and Biodiversity Impacts of Global Warming 14.3. Changes in Native and Non-Native Species’ Ranges and Effect on Invasiveness 14.4. Predictions of Range Expansion 14.5. The Overall Picture 14.6. A Controversy over Preserving Biodiversity in the Face of Climate Change   Chapter 15. Hypotheses Explaining Biological Invasions Proliferate 15.1. Invasions Pass Through a Sequence of Stages 15.2. What Hypotheses Are Obvious? 15.3. Do Species Traits Predict Invasion Scope and Impact? 15.4. What Features Make Ecosystems More or Less Prone to Impactful Invasions? 15.5. How Do Ecosystem Features and Species Traits Interact to Affect Invasions? 15.6. A Hypothesis That Stands Apart: Invasional Meltdown   Chapter 16. Measuring, Ranking, and Predicting Invasion Impacts 16.1. Quantifying Environmental Impacts 16.2. The IUCN Red Lists for Imperiled Species: A Template for Quantifying Invasion Impacts? 16.3. Red List Analogs for Invasive Species: EICAT, EICAT+, and SEICAT 16.4. Risk Analysis   Chapter 17. Management of Biological Invasions 17.1. Early Detection, Rapid Response (EDRR) 17.2. Eradication 17.3. Physical and Mechanical Control 17.4. Chemical Control 17.5. Biological Control (Biocontrol) 17.6. Other Technologies 17.7. New Methods Based on Genetics   Chapter 18. Controversies Abound 18.1. The Charge of Xenophobia or Nativism 18.2. Terminology and Categories 18.3. Which Populations to Target: Beneficial Non-Natives and Wasteful Management 18.4. “Native Invaders” and Ecological Succession 18.5. Invasive Species Denialism 18.6. Animal Rights, Animal Welfare, and Compassionate Conservation   Chapter 19. The Near Future of Invasion Science 19.1. Collaborations 19.2. Social Media 19.3. Citizen Science 19.4. The Global Scope of the Science 19.5. New Disciplines and Underrepresented Research Areas 19.6. Context Dependence 19.7. Over- and Underemphasized Research Foci 19.8. Will the Invasion Juggernaut Be Slowed?   Notes Bibliography Species Index Subject Index  

Reviews

“This is a big, fascinating book on a huge, important subject. The breadth of its historical scope, the depth of its science, the authority of its insights—and its steady, graceful voice—reflect the special strengths of Simberloff.” -- David Quammen, New York Times best-selling author of ""Spillover,"" ""The Tangled Tree,"" and ""Breathless"" “Ecological Explosions provides an authoritative and comprehensive historical account of biological invasions and the science directed at understanding and managing them. It describes human-mediated species movements from prehistory and antiquity through to the present day, detailing how a ‘trickle’ of introductions became a ‘flood.’ It delivers an engrossing insider’s view of the controversies, key questions, and rapid developments that continue to shape the exciting field of invasion science.” -- David M. Richardson, Centre for Invasion Biology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa “Invasive Species will reward those who demand well-documented information. . . . By extending his wide-ranging survey of biological invasions beyond their biology, Simberloff acknowledges the crucial human dimensions of invasive species.” * Science, on ""Invasive Species"" *

“Invasive Species will reward those who demand well-documented information. . . . By extending his wide-ranging survey of biological invasions beyond their biology, Simberloff acknowledges the crucial human dimensions of invasive species.” * Science, on ""Invasive Species"" *

Author Information

Daniel Simberloff is the Nancy Gore Hunger Chair of Excellence in Environmental Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His books include Invasive Species: What Everyone Needs to Know and Encyclopedia of Biological Invasions. He was formerly editor in chief of Biological Invasions.

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