Editing Invasive species (section)

== Terminology ==
{{See also |Glossary of invasion biology terms}}

Invasive species are the subset of established non-native alien or naturalized species that are a threat to native species and biodiversity.<ref name="SandlundSchei2001">{{cite book |author1=Odd Terje Sandlund |author2=Peter Johan Schei |author3=Åslaug Viken |title=Invasive Species and Biodiversity Management |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QHgMqnqaW_YC&pg=PA2 |date=30 June 2001 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-0-7923-6876-2 |pages=2– |access-date=November 1, 2020 |archive-date=December 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218042441/https://books.google.com/books?id=QHgMqnqaW_YC&pg=PA2 |url-status=live}}</ref> The term "invasive" is poorly defined and often very subjective.<ref name=neutral/> Invasive species may be plants, animals, fungi, and microbes; some include native species that have invaded human habitats such as farms and landscapes.<ref name="Inderjit2006">{{cite book |author=S. Inderjit |title=Invasive Plants: Ecological and Agricultural Aspects |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c-aMIwmis-wC&pg=PA252 |date=16 January 2006 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-7643-7380-1 |pages=252– |access-date=November 1, 2020 |archive-date=December 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218042441/https://books.google.com/books?id=c-aMIwmis-wC&pg=PA252 |url-status=live}}</ref> Some broaden the term to include indigenous or "native" species that have [[Colonisation (biology)|colonized]] natural areas.<ref name=neutral/> Some sources name ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' as an invasive species,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Marean |first=Curtis W. |year=2015 |title=The Most Invasive Species of All |journal=[[Scientific American]] |volume=313 |issue=2 |pages=32–39 |bibcode=2015SciAm.313b..32M |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0815-32 |jstor=26046104 |pmid=26349141}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2015 |title=Invasive species |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/invasive-species |access-date=August 18, 2020 |last=Rafferty |first=John P. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802215045/https://www.britannica.com/science/invasive-species |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |quote="...[M]odern humans are among the most successful invasive species." |url-status=live}}</ref> but broad appreciation of human learning capacity and their behavioral potential and [[phenotypic plasticity|plasticity]] may argue against any such fixed categorization.<ref name="root">{{cite journal |last1=Root-Bernstein |first1=Meredith |last2=Ladle |first2=Richard |year=2019 |title=Ecology of a widespread large omnivore, Homo sapiens, and its impacts on ecosystem processes |journal=[[Ecology and Evolution]] |volume=9 |issue=19 |pages=10874–94 |bibcode=2019EcoEv...910874R |doi=10.1002/ece3.5049 |pmc=6802023 |pmid=31641442 |s2cid=203370925 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The definition of "native" can be controversial. For example, the ancestors of ''[[wild horse|Equus ferus]]'' (modern horses) [[Evolution of the horse|evolved]] in [[North America]] and radiated to [[Eurasia]] before becoming extinct in North America. Upon being introduced to North America in 1493 by Spanish [[conquistador]]s, it is debatable whether the [[Feral horse|feral horses]] were native or exotic to the continent of their evolutionary ancestors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ansp.org/museum/leidy/paleo/equus.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305215318/http://www.ansp.org/museum/leidy/paleo/equus.php |archive-date=March 5, 2012 |title=Ancient American Horses |last=Leidy |first=Joseph |publisher=[[Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University |Academy of Natural Sciences]], [[Drexel University]] |date=March 5, 2012 |access-date=January 10, 2019}}</ref>

While invasive species can be studied within many subfields of biology, most research on invasive organisms has been in [[ecology]] and [[biogeography]]. Much of the work has been influenced by [[Charles Sutherland Elton|Charles Elton's]] 1958 book ''The Ecology of Invasion by Animals and Plants'' which creates a generalized picture of biological invasions.<ref name=IE>{{cite book |last=Lockwood |first=Julie L. |title=Invasion Ecology |year=2007 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |page=7 |url=http://www.planta.cn/forum/files_planta/invasion_ecology1_208.pdf |author2=Hoopes, Martha F. |author3=Marchetti, Michael P. |access-date=January 21, 2014 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924074044/http://www.planta.cn/forum/files_planta/invasion_ecology1_208.pdf}}</ref><ref name=Lowry>{{cite journal |pmid=23404636 |year=2012 |last1=Lowry |first1=E |last2=Rollinson |first2=EJ |last3=Laybourn |first3=AJ |last4=Scott |first4=TE |last5=Aiello-Lammens |first5=ME |last6=Gray |first6=SM |last7=Mickley |first7=J |last8=Gurevitch |first8=J |author-link8=Jessica Gurevitch |title=Biological invasions: A field synopsis, systematic review, and database of the literature |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=182–96 |doi=10.1002/ece3.431 |pmc=3568853 |journal=[[Ecology and Evolution]]}}</ref> Studies remained sparse until the 1990s.<ref name=Lowry/> This research, largely field observational studies, has disproportionately been concerned with [[terrestrial plant]]s.<ref name=Lowry/> The rapid growth of the field has driven a need to standardize the language used to describe invasive species and events. Despite this, little standard terminology exists; the field lacks any official designation but is commonly referred to as "invasion ecology" or more generally "invasion biology".<ref name=IE/><ref name=Lowry/> This lack of standard terminology has arisen due to the interdisciplinary nature of the field which borrows terms from disciplines such as [[agriculture]], [[zoology]], and [[pathology]], as well as due to studies being performed in isolation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Invasive Species |publisher=National Geographic Society |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/invasive-species |access-date=2022-11-28}}</ref><ref name=IE/>

{|class="wikitable" style="float:right;"
|+Colautti and MacIsaac nomenclature<ref name=neutral/>
|-
! Stage
! Characteristic
|-
|0
|Propagules residing in a donor region
|-
|I
|Traveling
|-
|II
|Introduced
|-
|III
|Localized and numerically rare
|-
|IVa
|Widespread but rare
|-
|IVb
|Localized but dominant
|-
|V
|Widespread and dominant
|}

In an attempt to avoid the ambiguous, subjective, and pejorative vocabulary that so often accompanies discussion of invasive species even in scientific papers, Colautti and MacIsaac proposed a new nomenclature system based on [[biogeography]] rather than on [[taxa]].<ref name=neutral>{{cite journal |last1=Colautti |first1=Robert I. |last2=MacIsaac |first2=Hugh J. |title=A neutral terminology to define 'invasive' species: Defining invasive species |journal=Diversity and Distributions |date=24 February 2004 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=135–141 |doi=10.1111/j.1366-9516.2004.00061.x |s2cid=18971654 |doi-access=free }}</ref> By discarding taxonomy, [[human health]], and economic factors, this model focused only on ecological factors. The model evaluated individual populations rather than entire species. It classified each population based on its success in that environment. This model applied equally to indigenous and to introduced species, and did not automatically categorize successful introductions as harmful.<ref name=neutral/>

The USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center defines invasive species very narrowly. According to Executive Order 13112, {{" '}}Invasive species' means an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/executive-order-13112-section-1-definitions |title=Executive Order 13112 - 1. Definitions |publisher=Ars.usda.gov |access-date=May 27, 2021 |archive-date=June 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625075018/https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/executive-order-13112-section-1-definitions |url-status=live }}</ref>