Humanity’s Effect on Biological Dispersal and Its Effects on Humanity

Introduction: Alien organisms, exotic pests, biological invaders, nonindigenous species: all are names for organisms that end up where they were not whose establishment adversely affects the surrounding environment. The process, dispersal, by which they are introduced has occurred long before man existed, but has in the modern era been exponentially accelerated. The impacts have ranged from cultural integration to economic and environmental devastation; with global dispersal at its highest potential, humanity now seeks solutions to the complex problems biological invaders pose.