Biological Invasion

Biological invasions have detrimental effects on ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. Invasive alien species are a key driver of environmental change, and the number of introduced and invasive species is continuing to rise with climate change. Our research in this area focuses on creating baseline for monitoring invasion, recognising invasive alien species as a threat to biodiversity, and reducing uncertainty in impact classification for alien species.

Examples of our work in this area:

Evaluating models for estimating introduction rates of alien species from discovery records.
Buba, Y., Kiflawi, M., McGeoch, M. A., & Belmaker, J. 2024. Evaluating models for estimating introduction rates of alien species from discovery records. Global Ecology and Biogeography, e13859. Doi: 10.1111/geb.13859

Functional trait variation along animal invasion pathways.
Chown, S. L., & McGeoch, M. A. 2023. Functional trait variation along animal invasion pathways. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 54(1), 151-170. Doi:10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-102220-013423

Invasive alien insects represent a clear but variable threat to biodiversity.
Clarke, D. A., & McGeoch, M. A. 2023. Invasive alien insects represent a clear but variable threat to biodiversity. Current Research in Insect Science, 4, 100065. Doi:10.1016/j.cris.2023.100065

Introduced and invasive alien species of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean Islands.
Leihy, R. I., Peake, L., Clarke, D. A., Chown, S. L., & McGeoch, M. A. 2023. Introduced and invasive alien species of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean Islands. Scientific Data, 10(1), 200. Doi:1038/s41597-023-02113-2

A nature-positive future with biological invasions: theory, decision support and research needs.
McGeoch, M. A., Clarke, D. A., Mungi, N. A., & Ordonez, A. 2024. A nature-positive future with biological invasions: theory, decision support and research needs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 379(1902), 20230014. Doi:10.1098/rstb.2023.0014

Governance and policy options for the management of biological invasions.
McGeoch, M. A., et al.. 2024. Governance and policy options for the management of biological invasions. In Thematic Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: IPBES Invasive Alien Species Assessment. Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. https://www.ipbes.net/ias

Chapter 6: Governance and policy options for the management of biological invasions. In: Thematic Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
McGeoch, M. A., Ordonez, A., Howard, P. L., Groom, Q. J., Shrestha, B. B., Fernandez, M., Brugnoli, E., Bwalya, B., Byun, C., Ksenofontov, S., Ojaveer, H., Simberloff, D., Mungi, N. A., and Rono, B. 2023. Chapter 6: Governance and policy options for the management of biological invasions. In: Thematic Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Roy, H. E., Pauchard, A., Stoett, P., and Renard Truong, T. (eds.). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7430747

Link to the full IPBES assessment: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3831673

Country Compendium of the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. 
Pagad, S., Bisset, S., Genovesi, P.,  Groom, Q., Hirsch, T., Jetz, W., Ranipeta, A., Schigel, D., Sica, Y.V.,  & Melodie A. McGeoch, M.A. 2022. Country Compendium of the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 9, pp 391. Doi:10.1038/s41597-022-01514-z

Existing indicators do not adequately monitor progress toward meeting invasive alien species targets.
Vicente, J. R., Vaz, A. S., Roige, M., Winter, M., Lenzner, B., Clarke, D. A., & McGeoch, M. A. 2022. Existing indicators do not adequately monitor progress toward meeting invasive alien species targets. Conservation Letters, e12918. Doi:10.1111/conl.12918

Options for reducing uncertainty in impact classification for alien species.
Clarke, D.A., Palmer, D.J., McGrannachan, C., Burgess, T.I., Chown, S.L., Clarke, R.H., Kumschick, S., Lach, L., Liebhold, A.M., Roy, H.E., Saunders, M.E., Yeates, D.K., Zalucki, M.P., & McGeoch, M.A., 2021. Options for reducing uncertainty in impact classification for alien species. Ecosphere 12, e03461. Doi:10.1002/ecs2.3461

Multispecies plant invasion increases function but reduces variability across an understorey metacommunity.
McGrannachan, C.M. & McGeoch, M.A.2019. Multispecies plant invasion increases function but reduces variability across an understorey metacommunity. Biological Invasions 21, pp 1115-1129. Doi:10.1007/s10530-018-1883-0