Category: Invasive species

Forests, Invasive species, Plant and soil ecology, Practitioners, Research summaries, Restoration

Seed additions facilitate herb-layer restoration in a temperate oak woodland

Originally posted and adapted from Natural History of Ecological Restoration blog. Andrew Kaul and colleagues present their latest research exploring whether seed additions can improve restoration outcomes in oak woodlands. Throughout most of the eastern United States, oak woodlands were once a widespread and dominant ecosystem. These woodlands experienced periodic fires, which prevented woody trees and shrubs from growing so densely that the overstory canopy … Continue reading Seed additions facilitate herb-layer restoration in a temperate oak woodland

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Careers, Invasive species, Journal news, Practitioners, The Applied Ecologist community, Urban ecosystems

Georgina Mace Prize 2022: Winner announced for early career researcher award

We’re excited to announce Luke Potgieter as the winner of the 2022 Georgina Mace Prize, celebrating the best article in the journal by an author at the start of their career. Winner: Luke Potgieter Research: Prioritizing sites for terrestrial invasive alien plant management in urban ecosystems About the research Rapid urbanization is placing increased pressure on natural, restored and designed ecosystems to provide services to … Continue reading Georgina Mace Prize 2022: Winner announced for early career researcher award

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Careers, Invasive species, Practitioners, Research summaries, Urban ecosystems

Luke Potgieter: Prioritizing sites to manage invasive aliens in urban ecosystems

Shortlisted for the Georgina Mace Prize 2022 In their latest research article, Luke Potgieter and colleagues developed a strategic, spatial prioritization approach for identifying sites most vulnerable to new or expanding terrestrial non-native plant invasions in urban landscapes. Cities have historically been under-studied in ecology and have not seen sufficient development of conservation and biodiversity management policy. This dearth of urban-focused applied ecology and conservation … Continue reading Luke Potgieter: Prioritizing sites to manage invasive aliens in urban ecosystems

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Human-wildlife interactions, Invasive species, Research summaries

Regulation is required to mitigate the high cumulative propagule pressure exerted by escaped pet parrots

Margaret Stanley, Ellery McNaughton, Rachel Fewster and Josie Galbraith talk us through their recent research that uses reports of lost pet birds to estimate the cumulative propagule pressure that the pet trade exerts on the establishment of introduced bird species. Although concerns about the billion-dollar global pet trade industry have usually focused on issues associated with the trade of endangered species, the pet trade also … Continue reading Regulation is required to mitigate the high cumulative propagule pressure exerted by escaped pet parrots

Journal of Applied Ecology2 Comments
Coastal and marine, Editor's Choice, Invasive species

Editor’s Choice 59:7 The key to seabird conservation – mitigating bycatch from industrial fisheries and eradicating invasive species

Associate Editor, Maria Paniw, introduces this month’s Editor’s Choice article by Dasnon et al., which presents some good news for seabird conservation: combined efforts of avoiding bycatch from commercial fisheries and reducing impacts of invasive species can effectively boost population sizes of vulnerable marine pelagic species. Industrial fishing activities can cause substantial damage, not only to fish stocks but also to pelagic vertebrate predators that … Continue reading Editor’s Choice 59:7 The key to seabird conservation – mitigating bycatch from industrial fisheries and eradicating invasive species

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Coastal and marine, Invasive species, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Apparently stable albatross population is actually decreasing due to mouse predation

Conservation organisations struggle to directly assist all threatened species, so deciding where to spend limited resources is a common problem. In a new paper, Oppel and colleagues show that, for long-lived species, a population may decrease long before this trend becomes evident in the part of the population that can be counted. Albatrosses are among the largest flying birds in the world, and they can … Continue reading Apparently stable albatross population is actually decreasing due to mouse predation

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Agriculture, Invasive species, Research summaries

Harnessing drainage canals for biodiversity conservation

A new paper led by Csaba Tölgyesi from the University of Szeged, Hungary, shows that drainage canals can be harnessed for biodiversity conservation in desiccated, heavily transformed regions by reconciling the interests of opposing stakeholders. Drainage and subsequent land cultivation have been a major threat to global wetland ecosystems for centuries. In Europe, most lowland fens have been drained; approximately 25% of the arable land … Continue reading Harnessing drainage canals for biodiversity conservation

Journal of Applied Ecology1 Comment
Invasive species, Research summaries

Drivers of the Australian native pet trade: The role of species traits, socioeconomic attributes and regulatory systems

In their new study, Adam Toomes et al. discuss what are the drivers and problems of the exotic pet trade, and how we can make pet trade regulations more effective. Most people associate the word ‘pet’ with domesticated animals like cats and dogs, yet more exotic options such as ornamental rainbowfish, venomous snakes and rare parrots are becoming increasingly popular. With the modern advent of … Continue reading Drivers of the Australian native pet trade: The role of species traits, socioeconomic attributes and regulatory systems

Journal of Applied Ecology1 Comment
Invasive species, Research summaries

Hotspots of pest-induced US urban tree death: culprits, impacted tree species, and spatial hotspots

In their latest research Emma J. Hudgins, Frank H. Koch, Mark J. Ambrose, and Brian Leung, discuss the economic implications of pest-induced tree deaths in the US. Urban trees are key to the wellbeing of city dwellers but are at high risk of mortality from insect pests, due to having high rates of exposure to invasive species as enabled by trade, travel, and other human … Continue reading Hotspots of pest-induced US urban tree death: culprits, impacted tree species, and spatial hotspots

Journal of Applied Ecology1 Comment
Coastal and marine, Invasive species, Plant and soil ecology, Research summaries

Cutting non-native trees helps, but may not be enough to restore coastal scrub invaded by pines

Invasive non-native trees can cause structural and functional changes in plant communities, but how do their impact change over time? Michele de Sá Dechoum and colleagues explore this in their latest research on a coastal ecosystems in southern Brazil. We learn, since growing up, that we should plant trees. There is no doubt that trees have very important environmental and social roles, especially in the … Continue reading Cutting non-native trees helps, but may not be enough to restore coastal scrub invaded by pines

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