Of the 7,000 estimated non-native species present in North America, approximately 1,000 are invasive. Clearly, invasive species are in the minority, but their small numbers don't keep them from causing billions of dollars in economic and ecological harm each year. Policymakers and ecologists continue to try to figure out which species might be harmful, which invasive species are doing the most damage, and which of these might respond best to eradication efforts. Invasive species reports and case studies are prevalent in political, environmental, and scientific news cycles, and a significant portion of the public is concerned about the issue. In this book, Simberloff will first cover basic topics such as how non-native species are introduced, which areas have incurred the most biological invasions, and how the rates of biological invasions have shifted in recent years. He then moves on to the direct and indirect impacts of the impacts of invasive species on various ecosystems, such as habitat and resource competition, how invasive species transmit pathogens, and how introduced plants and animals can modify a habitat to favor other non-native species. Simberloff's final chapters will discuss the evolution of invasive species, the policies we currently have in place to manage them, and future prospects for controlling their spread. The book will also contain a section dedicated to the more controversial topics surrounding invasive species: invasive natives, useful non-native species, animal rights versus species rights, and non-native species' impacts on the biodiversity of an ecosystem.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents ; Chapter 1: General Information ; 1. What is a biological invasion? - Definitions of "introduced species," "native species," "invasion," "invasive" ; 2. When did the study of biological invasions begin? ; 3. Why are biological invasions important? ; 4. What controversies surround invasions and their management? ; Chapter 2: Magnitude, geography, and time course of invasions ; 1. How many introduced species become invasive? ; 2. How many biological invasions are there? ; 3. Where do most biological invaders come from, and where do they go? ; 4. When have invasions occurred and by what means? How have rates of invasions changed? ; 5. Why are island ecosystems especially vulnerable? ; 6. How are introduced species distributed among habitats, and how do they get around? ; Chapter 3: Ecological effects of introduced species - straightforward impacts ; 1. How do biological invasions modify habitats? ; 2. How do invaders compete with native species? ; 3. What are the impacts of introduced predators? ; 4. What are the impacts of introduced herbivores? ; 5. What roles do introduced parasites and diseases play? ; 6. How does hybridization with invaders affect native species? ; Chapter 4: Impacts of invasions - complications and human impacts ; 1. What is an "indirect effect"? ; 2. What is "invasional meltdown"? ; 3. Why do many impacts occur only after a time lag? ; 4. Do invaders ever just go away on their own? ; 5. What are the economic impacts of biological invasions? ; 6. What are the public health consequences of biological invasions? ; Chapter 5: Evolution of introduced and native species ; 1. What is the "paradox" of biological invasions? ; 2. How do introduced species evolve? ; 3. How do introduced pathogens and native hosts co-evolve? ; 4. How do native species evolve in response to invasions? ; 5. How does hybridization affect natives and invaders? ; 6. What are the "enemy release" and EICA hypotheses? ; 7. How can the paradox of invasion genetics be resolved? ; Chapter 6: How and why do invasions occur? ; 1. Why do people deliberately introduce animals? ; 2. Why do people introduce plants? ; 3. What were acclimatization societies? ; 4. What are some unusual motives for introducing animals? ; 5. What are "stepping stones"? ; 6. How do unintended introductions occur? ; Chapter 7: Can we predict species invasions? ; 1. Can we predict which species will become invasive if they are introduced? ; 2. What is risk assessment for biological invasions? ; 3. How is risk assessed for unplanned introductions? ; Chapter 8: How are species introductions regulated? ; 1. What international agreements address biological invasions? ; 2. How do national regulatory frameworks differ? ; 3. Do further introductions matter once a species has invaded? ; 4. How could economic measures aid regulation and management? ; Chapter 9: Detection and eradication of introduced species ; 1. What is an early detection/rapid response system? ; 2. When should an introduction simply be tolerated? ; 3. What is eradication, and when should it be attempted? ; 4. What characteristics separate successful eradications from failures? ; Chapter 10: Maintenance management of invasions ; 1. What are mechanical and physical control? ; 2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of chemical control? ; 3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of biological control? ; 4. What is integrated pest management? ; 5. What is ecosystem management? ; Chapter 11: Controversies surrounding biological invasions ; 1. Which introduced species are harmful and which are useful? ; 2. How do introduced species affect biodiversity? ; 3. How do we know a species is introduced and not native? ; 4. Are actions against introduced species xenophobic? ; 5. Are efforts to contain invasions futile? ; 6. Should animal rights govern management of invasive species? ; Chapter 12: Prospect - the Homogeocene? ; 1. What is biotic homogenization? ; 2. How will patterns of human activity affect biological invasions? ; 3. How will global climate change and other global changes affect biological invasions? ; 4. What new technologies will aid detection and monitoring of invasions? ; 5. How will new management technologies affect invasions? ; 6. Will new technologies reverse the trend? A test case. ; Glossary ; Further reading ; Appendix: Scientific names of species cited in this book ; Index