What Ancient Invasive Species Can Tell Us About Modern Ones w/Dr. Alycia
Species invasions are pervasive in Earth history, yet the ecological and evolutionary consequences vary greatly. Ancient invasion events can be organized in a hierarchy of increasing invasion intensity from ephemeral invasions to globally pervasive invasive regimes.
"Current thinking about invasive species is that they are always bad and should be ‘resisted’. The paper below says they are also inevitable.
Using conversational language, the authors say that species invasions are commonplace throughout Earth’s history. These can come in many forms: sizes, speed and duration vary. In general, invasions spur evolution. Some have GREATLY changed the course of evolution. Fundamentally, species invasions are natural phenomena which have always profoundly influenced the history of life and evolution on Earth.
NOTE: this paper was originally published to Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics. It was published in November 2019.