At present, over 300 species of marine alien Mollusca are reported from the European waters (Streftaris et al. 2005; Zenetos et al. 2010). However, only three alien polyplacophoran have been recorded: Chaetopleura angulata (Spengler, 1797), Acanthopleura gemmata (Blainville, 1825) and Chiton hululensis (E. A. Smith, 1903); the latter is considered as “questionable” (Zenetos et al. 2010). These ...

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 Ecological Society of America www.frontiersinecology.org S zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) first appeared in North America in 1988 (Hebert et al. 1989; see Carlton [in press] for a precise chronology), the mollusk has become the iconic alien species. The appearance of zebra mussels, together with many other invaders, highlighted the absence of effective controls on alien species in N...

The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a transcription factor that transmits incoming 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (1alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3)) signaling via combined contact with coactivator proteins and specific DNA binding sites (VDREs), which ultimately results in activation of transcription. In contrast, the mechanisms of transcriptional repression via the VDR are less well understood. This study documen...

Biological invasions of freshwater habitats are due to the accidental or deliberate introduction of organisms associated to aquaculture, sports fishing, passive transport by vessels, ornamental uses and man-made canals and corridors. In European freshwater habitats, about 296 species of alien invertebrate, mostly crustaceans, and 136 species of alien fish have been introduced (Gherardi et al. 2...

Invasive alien species can have serious adverse impacts on both the environment and the economy. Being able to predict the impacts of an alien species could assist in preventing or reducing these impacts. This study aimed to establish whether there are any life history traits consistently correlated with the impacts of alien birds across two continents, Europe and Australia, as a first step tow...

Flowering phenology is an important and poorly understood plant trait that may possibly be related to the invasiveness potential of alien species. The present work evaluates whether flowering time of invasive alien species is a key trait to overcome the climatic filters operating in continental Mediterranean ecosystems of Spain (characterised by summer drought and low temperatures in winter). W...

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...

In preparation of the experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the ALICE collaboration has developed AliEn, a production environment that implements several components of the Grid paradigm needed to simulate, reconstruct and analyse data in a distributed way. Thanks to AliEn, the computing resources of a Virtual Organization can be seen and used as a single entity – any available node ...

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...