Invasive Species Response to Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbance

Abstract

Much of the literature dealing with the biology and management of invasive species has focused on the damaging ecological and economic consequences of invasions (see Chaps. 2, 3, and 14 of this volume for review). In this chapter, we shift the focus to the causes of invasion, with the goal of proactively limiting or preventing invasions rather than reacting to them once they have occurred. Preventing the introduction of invasive species is one key element in this proactive approach (Chap. 6, this volume). Here, we specifically focus on ecosystem attributes that affect whether or not an ecosystem is vulnerable to invasion, that is, the features that affect its invasibility (Lonsdale 1999), with particular emphasis on the role of natural and anthropogenic disturbance.