Alien species, one of the biggest threats to natural ecosystems worldwide, are of particular concern for oceanic archipelagos such as Galápagos. To enable more effective management of alien species, we reviewed, collated and analysed all available records of alien species for Galápagos. We also assembled a comprehensive dataset on pathways to and among the Galápagos Islands, including tourist a...

Among small organisms, it is often difficult to distinguish native from alien species because we cannot easily determine where they originate. They are often labelled cosmopolitan or cryptogenic, euphemisms that indicate that we are uncertain of their origin. This lack of information obscures our understanding of biogeography and ecosystem functioning, thus limiting our ability to control biolo...

The introduction of species to locations where they do not naturally occur (termed aliens) can have far-reaching and unpredictable environmental and economic consequences. Therefore there is a strong incentive to stem the tide of alien species introduction and spread. In order to identify broad patterns and processes of alien invasions, a spatially referenced, global dataset on the historical i...

Soil systems are being increasingly exposed to the interactive effects of biological invasions and climate change, with rising temperatures expected to benefit alien over indigenous species. We assessed this expectation for an important soil-dwelling group, the springtails, by determining whether alien species show broader thermal tolerance limits and greater tolerance to climate warming than t...

Apis mellifera L. is a generalist pollinator present in most of the Canary Islands. When foraging, honeybees transfer pollen grains to honey, and presence and abundance of pollen from different species can be interpreted as a sign of local flora, and a cue to spread of aliens. The relative use of alien vs native species by honeybees could influence island pollination mutualisms and/or favour al...

Building and managing large datasets of alien species is crucial to research, management, and control of biological invasions. To this end, the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN) platform aggregates, integrates, and harmonizes spatio-temporal data regarding alien species in Europe, including both invasive and non-invasive alien species. These data are stored in the EASIN Geodata...

Arable areas are commonly susceptible to alien plant invasion because they experience dramatic environmental influences and intense anthropogenic activity. However, the limited reports on relevant factors in plant invasion of croplands have addressed single or a few invasive species and environmental factors. To elucidate key factors affecting plant invasions in croplands, we analyzed the relat...

Oceanic archipelagos are threatened by the introduction of alien species which can severely disrupt the structure, function and stability of native communities. Here we investigated the pollination interactions in the two most disturbed Galápagos Islands, comparing the three main habitats and the two seasons, and assessing the impacts of alien plant invasions on network structure. We found that...

August 2006 | Volume 4 | Issue 8 | e279 Almost daily, we can read newspaper articles voicing concerns about alien species and their impacts on native biodiversity, economic resources, and human health. Alien or non-native species introductions by humans rank as one of the two top factors (after habitat loss) leading to declines in biological diversity [1]. Their synergistic effects with changes...

The European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN; http://easin.jrc.ec.europa.eu) aims to facilitate the exploration of existing alien species information from distributed sources through a network of interoperable web services, and to assist the implementation of European policies on biological invasions. The network allows extraction of alien species information from online information sy...