Invasive Species
Non-native organisms that spread aggressively in new environments, often outcompeting native species and disrupting ecosystems. Typically lack natural predators in their new range.
Used in the Books
This term appears in 4 chapters:
"Keystone species (companies that hold ecosystems together), trophic cascades (how changes at one level ripple through entire systems), succession, invasive species, island biogeography - these aren't just ecology concepts. They're tools for understanding how markets evolve, which positions are durable, and how t..."
"...nes colonization**: Distant islands receive fewer colonizing species because fewer organisms can travel that far. But isolation also protects against invasive species and diseases, allowing unique evolutionary paths. The interaction creates four categories: | Island Type | Size | Isolation | Characteristics | |--..."
"...constructed niche becomes a treadmill: pests must continually evolve resistance just to persist, not to gain advantage - a Red Queen trap. Case 3: Invasive species and novel ecosystem collapse Some invasive species engage in niche construction that initially facilitates invasion but ultimately destabilizes ec..."
"...rability to novel stresses: Distributed systems that evolved under one set of conditions may respond poorly to rapid novel changes. Climate change, invasive species, and pollutants can disrupt ecosystems precisely because distributed local responses aren't coordinated toward system-level resilience. Slow coord..."
Biological Context
Invasive species are a leading cause of extinction. Rats, cats, and mongooses have devastated island bird populations. Kudzu vine smothers American forests. Zebra mussels clog waterways. Invasion success often results from escape from natural enemies that controlled populations in native ranges.