Invasive Species Ecology in Human-Modified Landscapes

Invasive species represent one of the foremost challenges to biodiversity and ecosystem function in landscapes shaped by human activity. Urbanisation, agriculture and infrastructure development create novel environmental conditions—fragmented habitats, altered disturbance regimes and new resource subsidies—that can facilitate establishment, spread and impact of non-native organisms. The interplay between propagule pressure, landscape connectivity and local disturbance often determines invasion success, while invaded assemblages can experience shifts in trophic dynamics, loss of native species and altered ecosystem services. Management requires integration of ecological theory with practical considerations in highly modified settings, balancing eradication, containment and coexistence strategies. Case studies from cities, agricultural mosaics and peri-urban green spaces illustrate how human-induced changes in habitat structure and resource availability both drive invasions and provide opportunities for innovative control measures.

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Invasive Species Ecology in Human-Modified Landscapes publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in invasive species ecology in human-modified landscapes across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Anthropogenic disturbance: Alteration of ecosystems, habitats or processes resulting from human activities such as urbanisation, agriculture or infrastructure development.

Propagule pressure: The frequency and number of individuals of a species introduced to a new area, influencing establishment probability.

Mesopredator: A mid-ranking predator in a food web, often subject to both top-down control by apex predators and bottom-up resource fluctuations.

Habitat fragmentation: Division of continuous habitat into smaller, isolated patches by human land-use changes, affecting movement and population dynamics.

Ecological resistance: The ability of an ecosystem or community—often mediated by native species interactions—to limit the success of invaders.

References

1. Predicting current and future species distribution of the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) in Shanghai, China. Landscape and Urban Planning (2022).
2. Protecting prey by deceiving predators: A field experiment testing chemical camouflage and conditioned food aversion. Biological Conservation (2022).
3. Diet of the raccoon dog, an invasive mesopredator, during the breeding season of declining waterbird populations. Global Ecology and Conservation (2024).
4. Invasive species control with apex predators: increasing presence of wolves is associated with reduced occurrence of the alien raccoon dog. Biological Invasions (2022).