Ecological Explosions
The History of Biological Invasions and Invasion Science
Will be published approx. on 16. January 2026
Book
Hardback
640 pages
978-0-226-84256-1 (ISBN)
Description
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 BC 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, common reed, and Asian carp.
From the arrival of the naval shipworm in the Black Sea in the first millennium BC 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, common reed, and Asian carp.
Reviews / Votes
"Until the arrival of Polynesian explorers around 1,500 years ago, only about one new plant species naturally established itself in the Hawaiian Islands every 100,000 years. Their arrival accelerated the rate markedly to roughly one new species every fifty years, and today it reaches about twenty-two new species per year. Such biological invasions form part of ecologist Simberloff's complex investigation of 'invasion science,' which he defines as 'the study of organisms that people moved deliberately or inadvertently to new locations.'" -- Andrew Robinson * Nature * "Fascinating. . . . An important read for newcomers or those working within invasion science. It [provides] a welcome historical context and thoughtful future directions. . . . . [Ecological Explosions] will undoubtedly be an essential reference for scholars conducting invasion science research." * Integrative and Comparative Biology blog * "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 "The book Ecological Explosions erupts like a volcano, mirroring both the explosive pace of biological invasions and the growing scientific interest they have generated over time. The first section bursts forth with seminal examples of species introductions-both individual cases and mass movements-and their devastating ecological impacts. It highlights visionary scholars who recognized species movements driven by human activity as major transformers of ecosystems, working decades before terms like 'biodiversity' and 'global change' emerged in the 1980s and 1990s, and long before invasion biology entered the mainstream scientific agenda.The second section flows like molten lava, embracing the interdisciplinary nature of invasion science. Over the past fifty years, researchers have made impressive progress in understanding the evolutionary, ecological, and socio-economic processes that influence non-native species invasions and their far-reaching impacts. The book also identifies knowledge craters-gaps in scientific understanding and ongoing controversies challenged by denialism and oversimplified thinking.
The breadth of topics covered is remarkable, presented in a language accessible not only to invasion biology experts, but to anyone curious about the causes and consequences of species reshuffling across the globe.
Simberloff's encyclopedic knowledge is truly exceptional. He possesses a unique capacity to bring a vast reservoir of scientific understanding to the surface, making it comprehensible to both academic and general audiences. Ecological Explosions is a masterpiece that will appeal to readers interested in the history of science, biogeography, nature conservation, environmental management, socio-ecological systems, and beyond." -- Montserrat Vila, Estacion Biologica de Donana-CSIC & Universidad de Sevilla, Spain "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" *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Illustrations
13 halftones, 12 line drawings, 3 tables
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 178 mm
Thickness: 58 mm
Weight
1306 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-84256-1 (9780226842561)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
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.
Content
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
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