Book review: A new encyclopedia for biological invasions

Abstract

ISSN 1948‐6596 news and update book review A new encyclopedia for biological invasions Encyclopedia of biological invasions, by Daniel Simberloff and Marcel Rejmanek (editors) 2011, University of California Press, 792 pp. ISBN: 9780520264212 Price US$95 (Hardback or e‐book); http://www.ucpress.edu/ Despite existing in some form for many decades (Davis 2005), invasion ecology/biology is in many ways a nascent and emerging field, and is still en‐ gendering discussion regarding whether it indeed truly exists as a field or discipline in its own right, or is rather a particularly focused aspect of com‐ munity ecology or biogeography (e.g. Marris 2009, Pysek and Hulme 2009). As with many ecological disciplines, invasion ecology has seen fundamen‐ tal disagreements over aspects ranging from core definitions (including ‘invasion’ itself; Falk‐ Petersen et al. 2006, Ricciardi and Cohen 2007) to level of scientific objectivity (e.g. Larson 2007). The field is at a stage in its development where (1) dedicated journals exist (e.g. Biological Invasions) and there is a substantial number of academic articles published every year (for example a search of ‘invasive species’ in Web of Knowledge returns 1181 articles published in 2010 alone), 2) there is clear and significant international interest and action in relation to invasions and (3) an ex‐ tended peer community is involved in researching and managing the threat of invasive species, from world‐leading academics at research‐intensive universities to local government and conservation volunteers. The result of the burgeoning informa‐ tion and uneven levels of understanding and focus across the peer community is confusion and un‐ certainty, right from the fundamentals (what is an invasive species exactly, and why is it invasive?) to the specifics (what is the best technique for reduc‐ ing populations of Crassula helmsii in my pond, and how does that differ from managing spread in the local lake?). The time is ripe therefore for an encyclopaedia such as this one by Daniel Simber‐ loff and Marcel Rejmanek to form a baseline for future definitions and discussions. The book is one of University of California Press’ Encyclopedias of the Natural World series, and as with the other volumes has a wide range of entries that are effectively short essays or summa‐ ries of key topics relating (in this case) to biologi‐ cal invasions, without citations but with relevant further reading at the end. The entries vary in length from 1 to 8 pages, and often incorporate useful figures and occasionally tables. The book is impressively glossy (all figures are in full colour) and well presented, which is all the more remark‐ able considering the relatively modest price. The editors, Daniel Simberloff and Marcel Rejmanek, are leading invasion ecologists and are well quali‐ fied to compile such a text; this is reflected not just in the broad range of well‐selected topics that the volume includes (of which there are 153) but also the roll‐call of esteemed contributors that have supplied the entries (of which there are 197, many of them high‐profile international research‐ ers). The book is aimed not just at an academic audience, however, and the articles are written with the interested and educated general public in mind. The individual articles cover various aspects of invasions, ranging from particular attributes of invasive species and invaded ecosystems to im‐ pacts and management, interesting case studies and historical perspectives. Clearly it is not possi‐ ble to cover all of the entries in a review such as this, but I did find several articles especially inter‐ esting, particularly because they highlight the many socioecological factors that complicate our relationships with potentially problematic species. The entry on Xenophobia for example does an ex‐ cellent job of summarising how society’s relation‐ ship with non‐native species is constructed in cer‐ tain ways by the use of loaded terms or cultural metaphors, for example the negative personifica‐ tion of zebra mussels as ‘outlaws’ on the west coast of the US, or the badging of ‘harmful’ or ‘distasteful’ species with appellations that note their foreign status (Japanese knotweed, Chinese mitten crab, English sparrow and so on). As a starting point for a discussion of scientific objec‐ frontiers of biogeography 3.3, 2011 — © 2011 the authors; journal compilation © 2011 The International Biogeography Society