Avian Invasions: The Ecology and Evolution of Exotic Birds (Oxford Avian Biology Series)

Biological invaders represent one of the primary threats to the maintenance of global biodiversity, human health, and the success of human economic enterprises. The continuing globalization of our society ensures that the need to understand the process of biological invasion will only increase in the future. There is also a growing recognition that the study of biological invaders provides a unique insight into basic questions in ecology and evolution. The study of exotic birds has had a particularly long history and has come to represent a fascinating intersection between the study of biological invasions, avian conservation biology, and basic principles of ecology and evolution. Avian Invasions summarizes and synthesizes this unique historical record and unravels the insights that the study of exotic birds brings to all three of these research strands. It includes chapters on the well-known contributions of exotic bird study to ecological science, and on the post-establishment evolution of introduced bird populations. The result is the most comprehensive picture yet of the invasion process. Avian Invasions is aimed at professional avian biologists and ornithologists as well as graduate students of avian ecology, evolution and conservation. It will also appeal to a more general audience of invasion ecologists. 0199232547......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 1.1 Introduction......Page 12 1.2 A Brief History of Exotic Birds......Page 14 1.3 The Invasion Pathway......Page 21 1.4 Analysing the Invasion Process......Page 27 1.5 Précis......Page 32 2.1 Introduction......Page 38 2.2 Patterns in the Transport and Introduction of Birds......Page 41 2.3 Correlates of Transport and Introduction Separately......Page 53 2.4 What Do We Learn about the Early Stages of Invasion from Studying Introduced Birds?......Page 56 2.5 Conclusions......Page 58 3.1 Introduction......Page 62 3.2 Propagule Pressure and Establishment Success......Page 68 3.3 Other Associations of Propagule Pressure......Page 78 3.4 Conclusions......Page 85 4.1 Introduction......Page 88 4.2 The 'All-or-None' Pattern: Does it Really Exist?......Page 90 4.3 Intrinsic Characteristics as Determinants of Establishment Success......Page 93 4.4 Conclusions......Page 114 5.1 Introduction......Page 118 5.2 Environmental Matching......Page 119 5.3 Human Commensalisms......Page 121 5.4 Biotic Interactions......Page 123 5.5 Conclusions......Page 139 6.1 Introduction......Page 142 6.2 Patterns of Spread......Page 143 6.3 Models of Spread......Page 157 6.4 Conclusions......Page 167 7.1 Introduction......Page 172 7.2 Exotic Bird Species Richness......Page 174 7.3 Changes in Diversity Patterns across Space after Invasion......Page 179 7.4 Large-scale Patterns in the Distribution and Abundance of Exotic Birds......Page 184 7.5 Impacts of Exotic Birds on Native Species and Communities......Page 187 7.6 Conclusions......Page 195 8.1 Introduction......Page 198 8.2 Population Genetics in the Context of Exotic Bird Introductions......Page 199 8.3 Studies of Genetic Variation between Exotic Bird Populations......Page 210 8.4 The Role of Genetic Variation in Establishment Success and Range Expansion......Page 215 8.5 Introgressive Hybridization of Exotic Birds with Natives......Page 222 8.6 Conclusions......Page 224 9.1 Introduction......Page 226 9.2 Evolution in Response to Climatic Shifts......Page 228 9.3 Evolution in Response to Novel Interspecific Associations......Page 240 9.4 Conclusions......Page 252 10.1 Introduction......Page 254 10.2 ' Ockham's Razor': All Else being Equal, the Simplest Solution is the Best......Page 255 10.3 False Dichotomies......Page 264 10.4 ' Somewhere, Something Incredible is Waiting to be Known' (Carl Sagan)......Page 265 10.5 Conclusions......Page 268 Bibliography......Page 270 B......Page 308 D......Page 309 F......Page 310 H......Page 311 L......Page 312 N......Page 313 P......Page 314 S......Page 315 Z......Page 316