(Press-News.org) Biological invasions, i.e. the spread of introduced, non-native species, not only serve as ecological model systems, but also bring out the importance of economic activities on ecological processes. Two recent books have shown the extent and variety of the interaction of economics with invasion science and also the variety of approaches to tackling these problems.
Three researchers, lead by Mark Williamson from the University of York, England, argue in the latest issue of the open access journal NeoBiota that the ecological and economic dimensions of the problem of invasive species are connected at different levels. Many of the changes that lead ecosystems to be more vulnerable to the impact of invasive species are direct consequences of economic behaviour. This is because these impacts are externalities of the market transactions; they are not taken seriously by those making the transactions perhaps because they are not held legally responsible for the impacts nor are the markets directly affected by these impacts. Instead these impacts are often borne by those who receive little or no benefit from the market transactions.
Furthermore, Williamson, Meyerson & Auge point out that biological invasions are good models for studying more general processes in ecology. In particular, the behaviour of ecosystems that are not in or close to equilibrium can be studied easily in biological invasions. On the one hand, biological invasions help us to understand mechanisms of spread, which is important for native weedy species and colonization of new habitats, much better. On the other hand, they serve as a study system on how ecosystem functions. This knowledge is crucial to predict impacts of Global Change on ecosystem services beneficial to society.
INFORMATION:
Original Source:
Williamson M, Meyerson LA, Auge H (2011) Invasion science, ecology and economics: seeking roads not taken. NeoBiota 10: 1-5. doi: 10.3897/neobiota.10.2194
Posted by Pensoft Publishers.
For more information, contact:
Dr. Harald Auge
Department of Community Ecology
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research -- UFZ
Theodor-Lieser-Strasse 4
D-06120 Halle Germany
Phone 49-345-5585309
Fax 49-345-5585329
Email harald.auge@ufz.de
Homepage: http://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=1153
and
Laura Meyerson
Associate Professor
e-mail: lameyerson@gmail.com
tel: 420774137968
Mailing address:
c/o Professor Petr Pysek
Institute of Botany, Department of
Invasion Ecology
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Pruhonice, CZ 252 43, Czech Republic
Market transactions and economics in general affect biological invasions
2011-10-10
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Prague's 88 nature reserves threatened by invasive plant species
2011-10-10
Cities are generally regarded as hostile for wildlife and urbanization a dramatic form of destruction of natural habitats. Still, they are far from dead zones. Their biodiversity may even exceed that of surrounding landscapes, owing to heterogeneous environments and frequent localization in naturally rich areas that historically supplied diverse resources for their human inhabitants.
"This is definitely the case of the city of Prague, Czech Republic", says the lead author Prof. Vojtěch Jarošík of the study published in the open access journal NeoBiota. "Prague contains ...
2 cell phones in 1
2011-10-10
The company smartphone, the private cellphone, keys for house and car, wallet – the objects we carry around with us every day are becoming more numerous all the time. Which is why many people also use their business smartphone for personal purposes. It may be convenient, but employees and the IT department have different interests: most employees would prefer unlimited use of their smartphones, installing and using whatever programs they like. But this can also open the door to hackers in search of ways of attacking. As a result, IT departments often try to limit the use ...
Early detection of plant disease
2011-10-10
The farmer casts a worried gaze at his potato field: where only recently a lush green field of plants was growing, much of the foliage has now turned brown – presumably the result of a fungal disease. Usually, by the time the disease becomes visible, it is already too late. The course of the disease is then so advanced that there is little the farmer can do to counteract the damage done. To determine early on whether and how severely his plants are diseased, he would have to submit samples to a laboratory on a regular basis. There, researchers usually employ the ELISA method, ...
Wireless window contacts -- no maintenance, no batteries
2011-10-10
It is 7:30 a.m. and high time she left the house; she mustn't be late for her 8 o'clock appointment. But the young lady still feels the need to check that she closed all her windows, because the forecast is for thunderstorms that afternoon. Later, in the car, she realizes that she forgot to check one of the rooms when she went round the house. In situations like this, window contacts can make life easier and give peace of mind. These little electronic helpers are fitted onto window handles, and they can tell from the position of the handle whether the window is wide open, ...
Study tracks mutations causing CDA II back to the Roman Empire
2011-10-10
Many of you might know that Congenital Dyserythropoietic Anemia type II (CDA II) is a rare blood disorder, due to a failure in final part of erythropoiesis. What will surprise you is the fact that some mutations responsible for the disease can be tracked 3.000 years back. A study led by the ENERCA member Prof. Achille Iolascon, from CEINGE Advanced Biotechnologies (Naples, Italy) and the University of Naples Federico II, analyzes two mutations (E109K and R14W) of the SEC23B gene and discovers one of them is responsible for the higher frequency of CDA II in Italian population. ...
Gray jays' winter survival depends on food storage, study shows
2011-10-10
A new University of Guelph study shows that gray jays hoping to survive and reproduce through Canada's harsh winters need to be able to store food in the right kinds of trees.
The study appears in Oecologia and was co-authored by Prof. Ryan Norris, Department of Integrative Biology; Brian Kielstra, an undergraduate student in the Department of Geography; and Dan Strickland, retired chief naturalist of Algonquin Park in Ontario.
Unlike most birds that migrate for winter, gray jays are year-round residents in the Canadian boreal forest. In winter, they rely on berries, ...
Removal of restrictions can decrease music piracy
2011-10-10
Contrary to the traditional views of the music industry, removal of digital rights management (DRM) restrictions can actually decrease piracy, according to new research from Rice University and Duke University.
Marketing professors Dinah Vernik of Rice and Devavrat Purohit and Preyas Desai of Duke used analytical modeling to examine how piracy is influenced by the presence or absence of DRM restrictions. They found that while these restrictions make piracy more costly and difficult, the restrictions also have a negative impact on legal users who have no intention of ...
Jonesing for java: Could caffeine use predict risk for cocaine abuse?
2011-10-10
Parents of young caffeine consumers take heed: that high-calorie energy drink or soda might present more than just obesity risk. In fact, according to a double-blind, placebo-controlled study that examined responses to stimulants, an individual's subjective response to caffeine may predict how he or she will respond to other stimulant drugs, possibly reflecting differences in risk for abuse of other more serious drugs of abuse, such as amphetamine and cocaine.
The new findings are reported in the November issue of the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence by Stacey Sigmon, ...
Measuring elusive neutrinos flowing through the Earth, physicists learn more about the sun
2011-10-10
AMHERST, Mass. – Using one of the most sensitive neutrino detectors on the planet, an international team including physicists Laura Cadonati and Andrea Pocar at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are now measuring the flow of solar neutrinos reaching earth more precisely than ever before. The detector probes matter at the most fundamental level and provides a powerful tool for directly observing the sun's composition.
Pocar, Cadonati and colleagues report in the current issue of Physical Review Letters that the Borexino instrument has now measured with high precision ...
Yachting Exclusive - Yachting Partners International (YPI) Doubles Fleet Heading to the Caribbean and Bahamas.
2011-10-10
Monaco Yacht Show 2011 marked the end of the summer season in the Mediterranean, and charter yachts are readying to head towards warmer climates. Second in size only to the combined charter grounds of the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the Bahamas offer over 10,000 islands, islets, reefs and cays cruising.
Luxury charter yachts in the Caribbean -
M/Y Seven Sins - launched in 2005, Seven Sins has a proven charter record for delivering excellence at sea. Cherry wood has been chosen to give the interior a warm and welcoming feel whilst Indonesian ...