Alien Species in North America and Hawaii Impacts on Natural Ecosystems

Alien Species in North America and Hawaii Impacts on Natural Ecosystems PDF Author: George W. Cox
Publisher: Turtleback
ISBN: 9780613917230
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The world is in the midst of ecological an explosion with devastating implications. Thousands of species of microbes, plants, and animals are being introduced, both deliberately and inadvertently, to new land areas, seas, and fresh-waters.Alien Species in North America and Hawaii provides a comprehensive overview of the invasive species phenomenon, examining the threats posed and the damage that has already been done. It offers a framework for understanding the problem and provides a detailed examination of species and regions. Specific chapters examine: -- North American invaders and their threats -- how exotic species are dispersed to new regions -- patterns of exotic invasions, with separate chapters covering each of the ten most seriously invaded regions and ecosystems -- patterns of invasiveness exhibited by major groups of exotics -- the theory of invasive capability of alien species and the resistance of communities to invasion -- management and public policy issuesAlien Species in North America and Hawaii offers for the first time an assessment and synthesis of the problem of invasive species in North American and Hawaiian ecosystems. Scientists, conservation professsionals, policymakers, and anyone involved with the study and control of invasive species will find the book an essential guide and reference.

Alien Species in North America and Hawaii Impacts on Natural Ecosystems

Alien Species in North America and Hawaii Impacts on Natural Ecosystems PDF Author: George W. Cox
Publisher: Turtleback
ISBN: 9780613917230
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book

Book Description
The world is in the midst of ecological an explosion with devastating implications. Thousands of species of microbes, plants, and animals are being introduced, both deliberately and inadvertently, to new land areas, seas, and fresh-waters.Alien Species in North America and Hawaii provides a comprehensive overview of the invasive species phenomenon, examining the threats posed and the damage that has already been done. It offers a framework for understanding the problem and provides a detailed examination of species and regions. Specific chapters examine: -- North American invaders and their threats -- how exotic species are dispersed to new regions -- patterns of exotic invasions, with separate chapters covering each of the ten most seriously invaded regions and ecosystems -- patterns of invasiveness exhibited by major groups of exotics -- the theory of invasive capability of alien species and the resistance of communities to invasion -- management and public policy issuesAlien Species in North America and Hawaii offers for the first time an assessment and synthesis of the problem of invasive species in North American and Hawaiian ecosystems. Scientists, conservation professsionals, policymakers, and anyone involved with the study and control of invasive species will find the book an essential guide and reference.

Alien Species in North America and Hawaii

Alien Species in North America and Hawaii PDF Author: George W. Cox
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
The world is in the midst of an ecological explosion with devastating implications. Thousands of species of microbes, plants, and animals are being introduced, both deliberately and inadvertently, to new land areas, seas, and freshwaters. In many regions, these new colonists are running wild, disrupting the dynamics of ecosystems, pushing native species toward extinction, and causing billions of dollars in direct economic damages.Alien Species in North America and Hawaii provides a comprehensive overview of the invasive species phenomenon, examining the threats posed and the damage that has already been done to ecosystems across North America and Hawaii. George W. Cox considers both the biological theory underlying invasions and the potential and actual effects on ecosystems and human activities. His book offers a framework for understanding the problem and provides a detailed examination of species and regions. Specific chapters examine: North American invaders and their threats how exotic species are dispersed to new regions how physical and biotic features influence the establishment and spread of invasives patterns of exotic invasions, with separate chapters covering each of the ten most seriously invaded regions and ecosystems patterns of invasiveness exhibited by major groups of exotics the theory of invasive capability of alien species and the resistance of communities to invasion theoretical aspects of ecosystem impacts of invaders and the evolutionary interaction of invaders and natives management and public policy issuesAlien Species in North America and Hawaii offers for the first time an assessment and synthesis of the problem of invasive species in North American and Hawaiian ecosystems. Scientists, conservation professionals, policymakers, and anyone involved with the study and control of invasive species will find the book an essential guide and reference to one of the most serious and widespread threats to global biodiversity.

Alien Species and Evolution

Alien Species and Evolution PDF Author: George W. Cox
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1597268356
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
In Alien Species and Evolution, biologist George W. Cox reviews and synthesizes emerging information on the evolutionary changes that occur in plants, animals, and microbial organisms when they colonize new geographical areas, and on the evolutionary responses of the native species with which alien species interact. The book is broad in scope, exploring information across a wide variety of taxonomic groups, trophic levels, and geographic areas. It examines theoretical topics related to rapid evolutionary change and supports the emerging concept that species introduced to new physical and biotic environments are particularly prone to rapid evolution. The author draws on examples from all parts of the world and all major ecosystem types, and the variety of examples used gives considerable insight into the patterns of evolution that are likely to result from the massive introduction of species to new geographic regions that is currently occurring around the globe. Alien Species and Evolution is the only state-of-the-art review and synthesis available of this critically important topic, and is an essential work for anyone concerned with the new science of invasion biology or the threats posed by invasive species.

Ecology of Biological Invasions of North America and Hawaii

Ecology of Biological Invasions of North America and Hawaii PDF Author: Harold A. Mooney
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461249880
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
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.

Freshwater Biodiversity

Freshwater Biodiversity PDF Author: David Dudgeon
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108882625
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 517

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Book Description
Growing human populations and higher demands for water impose increasing impacts and stresses upon freshwater biodiversity. Their combined effects have made these animals more endangered than their terrestrial and marine counterparts. Overuse and contamination of water, overexploitation and overfishing, introduction of alien species, and alteration of natural flow regimes have led to a 'great thinning' and declines in abundance of freshwater animals, a 'great shrinking' in body size with reductions in large species, and a 'great mixing' whereby the spread of introduced species has tended to homogenize previously dissimilar communities in different parts of the world. Climate change and warming temperatures will alter global water availability, and exacerbate the other threat factors. What conservation action is needed to halt or reverse these trends, and preserve freshwater biodiversity in a rapidly changing world? This book offers the tools and approaches that can be deployed to help conserve freshwater biodiversity.

Invasive Plants

Invasive Plants PDF Author: Sylvan Ramsey Kaufman
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0811772373
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 545

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Book Description
An easy-to-use, wide-ranging guide to invasive plants in North America. Features full-color photos and descriptions of more than 250 alien species—both terrestrial and aquatic—that are in some cases changing the landscape to an almost unimaginable degree. Accompanying text describes the plant's environmental and economic impacts as well as management techniques used to control it. Also includes an explanation of what an invasive is and a step-by-step identification key. An essential guide to understanding this unprecedented environmental challenge.

Social Issues in America

Social Issues in America PDF Author: James Ciment
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317459717
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 2056

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Book Description
More than 150 key social issues confronting the United States today are covered in this eight-volume set: from abortion and adoption to capital punishment and corporate crime; from obesity and organized crime to sweatshops and xenophobia.

Understanding and Managing Invasive Plants in Wilderness and Other Natural Areas

Understanding and Managing Invasive Plants in Wilderness and Other Natural Areas PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Invasive plants
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description


Feather Trails

Feather Trails PDF Author: Sophie A. H. Osborn
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1645022439
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
The story of one woman’s remarkable work with a trio of charismatic, endangered bird species—and her discoveries about the devastating threats that imperil them. In Feather Trails, wildlife biologist and birder Sophie A. H. Osborn reveals how the harmful environmental choices we’ve made—including pesticide use, the introduction of invasive species, lead poisoning, and habitat destruction—have decimated Peregrine Falcons, Hawaiian Crows, and California Condors. In the Rocky Mountains, the cloud forests of Hawai’i, and the Grand Canyon, Sophie and her colleagues work day-to-day to try to reintroduce these birds to the wild, even when it seems that the odds are steeply stacked against their survival. With humor and suspense, Feather Trails introduces us to the fascinating behaviors and unique personalities of Sophie’s avian charges and shows that what endangers them ultimately threatens all life on our planet. More than a deeply researched environmental investigation, Feather Trails is also a personal journey and human story, in which Sophie overcomes her own obstacles—among them heat exhaustion, poachers, rattlesnakes, and chauvinism. Ultimately, Feather Trails is an inspiring, poignant narrative about endangered birds and how our choices can help to ensure a future not only for the rarest species, but for us too. "An intimate look at the wonder and effort needed for working with endangered species in the wild. [Osborn's] matter-of-fact writing style and wry humor make the reader part of the action."—Booklist (starred review)

Invasive Alien Species

Invasive Alien Species PDF Author: Harold A. Mooney
Publisher: Shearwater Books
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 396

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Book Description
Invasive alien species are among today's most daunting environmental threats, costing billions of dollars in economic damages and wreaking havoc on ecosystems around the world. In 1997, a consortium of scientific organizations including SCOPE, IUCN, and CABI developed the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) with the explicit objective of providing new tools for understanding and coping with invasive alien species. Invasive Alien Species is the final report of GISP's first phase of operation, 1997-2000, in which authorities from more than thirty countries worked to examine invasions as a worldwide environmental hazard. The book brings together the world's leading scientists and researchers involved with invasive alien species to offer a comprehensive summary and synthesis of the current state of knowledge on the subject. Invasive alien species represent a critical threat to natural ecosystems and native biodiversity, as well as to human economic vitality and health. The knowledge gained to date in understanding and combating invasive alien species can form a useful basis on which to build strategies for controlling or minimizing the effects in the future. Invasive Alien Species is an essential reference for the international community of investigators concerned with biological invasions.