Ecology of Biological Invasions of North America and Hawaii

The diversity of the earth's climates superimposed upon a complex configuration of physical features has provided the conditions for the evolution of a remarkable array of living things which are linked together into complex ecosystems. The kinds of organisms comprising the ecosystems of the world, and the nature of their interactions, have constantly changed through time due to coevolutionary interactions along with the effects of a continually changing physical environ ment. In recent evolutionary time there has been a dramatic and ever-accelerating rate of change in the configuration of these ecosystems because of the increasing influence of human beings. These changes range from subtle modifications caused by anthropogenically induced alterations in atmospheric properties to the total destruction of ecosystems. Many of these modifications have provided the fuel, food, and fiber which have allowed the expansion of human populations. Unfortunately, there have been many unanticipated changes which accompanied these modifications which have had effects detrimental to human welfare in cluding substantial changes in water and air quality. For example, the use of high-sulfur coal to produce energy in parts of North America is altering the properties of freshwater lakes and forests because of acidification.

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With contributions by numerous experts

Résumé
With contributions by numerous experts

Contenu
Section 1 The Patterns of Invasions: Systematic Perspective.- 1. Introduced Insects: A Biogeographic and Systematic Prespective.- 2. Fish Introductions into North America: Patterns and Ecological Impact.- 3. Patterns of Plant Invasion in North America.- 4. Patterns of Invasions by Pathogens and Parasites.- Section 2 Attributes of Invaders.- 5. Which Animal Will Invade?.- 6. Life History of Colonizing Plants: Some Demographic, Genetic, and Physiological Features.- 7. Models of Genetically Engineered Organisms and Their Ecological Impact.- Section 3 Site Characteristics Promoting Invasions and System Impact of Invaders.- 8. Site Characteristics Favoring Invasions.- 9. Biological Invasions of Plants and Animals in Agriculture and Forestry.- 10. Biological Invasions and Ecosystem Properties: Can Species Make a Difference?.- Section 4 Modeling the Invasion Process.- 11. Predicting Invasions and Rates of Spread.- Section 5 Biogeographic Case Histories.- 12. Alien Plant Invasion into the Intermountain West: A Case History.- 13. Invasibility: Lessons from South Florida.- 14. Species Introductions to Hawaii.- 15. The Invasions of Plants and Animals into California.- Section 6 Control of Invaders.- 16. Control of Invaders.- Species Index.- Topical Index.