Publisher Description

Elton sought to articulate more explicitly his vision of an entire field of invasion science. The 1958 book, aimed at an educated lay audience, was almost wholly descriptive, dominated by striking examples of the nature and scope of particular invasions beginning with the seven examples detailed in Chapter 1. From the materials in the proof copy and other sources, we can imagine a new edition would also have targeted biologists and been somewhat more technical and prescriptive. In autobiographical notes he penned near the end of his life, Elton wrote regarding EIAP, "This whole subject has deep significance for the study of plant and animal communities and their balance (or unbalance),"19 and indeed many of the reprints and notes refer to interactions among species and community-wide effects.

Back Cover

Charles S. Elton's classic text Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants sounded an early warning about a human-driven global change that became widely appreciated among scientists and the public only decades later. "We must make no mistake", he wrote. "We are seeing one of the great historical convulsions of the world's fauna and flora." The enormous environmental consequences of this phenomenon are now well recognized. The past 60 years have seen an exponential rise in research on biological invasions, and Elton's original hypotheses are among those at the center of this research. In this new annotated edition, ecologists Daniel Simberloff and Anthony Ricciardi have provided forewords placing each chapter into historical scientific context. They assess the influence of Elton's ideas on the development of invasion ecology. Moreover, using the author's notes from the Elton archives at the University of Oxford, Simberloff and Ricciardi offer evidence that Elton was preparing the groundwork for a revised edition and discuss what additions and changes he intended to make. With clear language and copious examples, Ecology of Invasions is the first book to place invasions in a global context and is still the most cited work on the subject. It is an essential reference for students, researchers, and the general public who wish to understand an environmental phenomenon that has grown in magnitude and scope as a global issue for conservation and biosecurity.

Author Biography

Charles S. Elton (1900 – 1991) is widely considered the founder of animal ecology. He established and led Oxford University's Bureau of Animal Population, responsible for training zoologists from around the world. His scientific legacy, of which Ecology of Invasions is a major part, has influenced generations of biologists.Daniel Simberloff is the Nancy Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Tennessee, member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Biological Invasions.Anthony Ricciardi is Professor of Biology in the Redpath Museum and McGill School of Environment, and a Trottier Fellow in Science and Public Policy, at McGill University.  He has served on the editorial boards of the journals Biological Invasions, Diversity and Distributions, and NeoBiota. 

Table of Contents

The Invaders
Wallace's Realms: the Archipelago of Continents
The Invasion of Continents
The Fate of Remote Islands
Changes in the Sea
The Balance between Populations
New Food-chains for Old
The Reasons for Conservation
The Conservation of Variety

Review

"Simberloff and Ricciardi have captured Elton's thinking on biological invasions over the subsequent 25 years. This proves not only to be an informative read but also a wonderful insight into the mind of one of the 20th century's leading ecologists. … We are lucky to have this new edition that loses none of the magic of the original but hopefully will encourage a new generation of ecologist to read this classic work." (Philip Hulme, The Niche, 2020)

Review Quote

"Simberloff and Ricciardi have captured Elton's thinking on biological invasions over the subsequent 25 years. This proves not only to be an informative read but also a wonderful insight into the mind of one of the 20th century's leading ecologists. ... We are lucky to have this new edition that loses none of the magic of the original but hopefully will encourage a new generation of ecologist to read this classic work." (Philip Hulme, The Niche, 2020)

Feature

New annotated edition of a classic text Two leading invasion ecologists place the book into historical scientific context Previously unpublished notes by the original author are highlighted

Details