Biological Invasion and Protected Areas

Protected areas (parks) are not immune to being invaded by alien plants and animals, but the ecological risks can be high when this happens. Alien and invasive species enter parks via a wide range of pathways and many hypotheses have been proposed to explain what makes a park either susceptible or resistant to invasion. Our research in this area focuses on both drivers and patterns of alien and invasive species invasion, the long term consequences of the integration of multiple alien species into native communities and the management implications thereof.

Examples of our work in this area:

Human population density explains alien species richness in protected areas.

Spear, D., Foxcroft, L.C., Bezuidenhout, H. & McGeoch, M.A. 2013. Human population density explains alien species richness in protected areas. Biological Conservation 159, 137-147. 10.1016/j.biocon.2012.11.022

Human activities, propagule pressure and alien plants in the sub-Antarctic: Tests of generalities and evidence in support of management.

Le Roux, P.C., Ramaswiela, T., Kalwij, J.M., Shaw, J.D., Ryan, P.G., Treasure, A.M., McClelland, G.T.W., McGeoch, M.A. & Chown, S.L. 2013. Human activities, propagule pressure and alien plants in the sub-Antarctic: Tests of generalities and evidence in support of management. Biological Conservation 161, 18-27. 10.1016/j.biocon.2013.02.005

Uncertainty in invasive alien species listing.

McGeoch, M.A., Spear, D., Kleynhans, E.J. & Marais, E. 2012. Uncertainty in invasive alien species listing. Ecological Applications 22, 959-971. 10.1890/11-1252.1

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

Collaborators:
Dr Llewellyn Foxcroft
Associate Professor Ros Gleadow
Dr Dave Chapple
Dr Gillis Horner