Scientific literature on invasive alien species in a megadiverse country: advances and challenges in Mexico

Abstract

Interest in invasive species has increased around the world over the last several decades. In Mexico, studies on invasive species date as early as 1939 and the number of publications has increased considerably in recent decades. However, to our knowledge, the analysis of information gaps and research priorities is lacking. Therefore, it is necessary to identify gaps in the knowledge of invasive species in order to define future research priorities and focus conservation efforts. We assessed the current state of knowledge of biological invasions in Mexico based on the existing literature. Our aim was to identify in which areas information is absent or insufficient and which areas should be prioritised. We identified a total of 869 references. The number of references increased over time and the topics were strongly biased towards two areas: 1) natural history and geographical distribution patterns and 2) effects on native biota and ecosystems. The remaining topics were only moderately or poorly studied. Most studies focused on vascular plants (n = 280) and fishes (n = 174). Notably, a large portion of the references (n = 215) focused on only eight invasive alien species, including their ecological and socioeconomic impacts. Only 95 references examined the effects of alien species on biodiversity; these studies were mainly carried out on islands (n = 41) or in terrestrial or freshwater ecosystems in protected natural areas (n = 165). The findings of the present review can guide future studies in filling in the existing research gaps on biological invasions. Additionally, future studies should aim to define national priorities of the impacts of biological invasions and to promote the prevention and control of alien species by considering the distinct vectors and pathways of introduction and movement.

A review on introduced Cichla spp. and emerging concerns

“…were developing taskforce to control its widespread in affected water bodies but, their actions were delivered to the entire area rather than isolating the target from the non-target species ( Epanchin-Niell and Wilen, 2012 ; Büyüktahtakın and Haight, 2018 ; Bonneau et al., 2019 ). In fact, several decisions that favoured revenue over existing biodiversity ( Meiners-Mandujano et al., 2019 ; Ramírez-Albores et al., 2019 ), were challenged by priorities ( Pelicice et al., 2014 ; Ota et al., 2019 ), work ethics, hiring schemes, conflicting interests ( Fischer et al., 2014 ; Humair et al., 2014 ; Pietrzyk-Kaszyńska and Grodzińska-Jurczak, 2015 ) divided tradition and total neglect on local knowledge ( Fischer et al., 2014 ; Humair et al., 2014 ). All of these decisions are developed from top-down management that prioritize on theory and book-based scientific evidence ( Humair et al., 2014 ).…”

Invasive Plant Species Distribution Is Structured by Soil and Habitat Type in the City Landscape

“…Invasive species have been an important research topic for scientists from around the world for several decades [ 1 , 2 ]. Therefore, there is a certain subjectivity among scientists when using this term [ 3 ].…”

Diversity of alien roadside herbs along an elevational gradient in western Mexico

“…However, Mexico is a mega-diverse country, and it is risky to generalise results derived from individual local or regional projects (Trejo and Dirzo 2002;CONABIO and SEMADET 2017). Publications on alien plant species in Mexico are scarce, scattered and variable (Espinosa-García and Villaseñor 2017;Ramírez-Albores et al 2019). Some information is available for the whole country, but most results are restricted to central Mexico or the northern states (Espinosa-García et al 2004a;Villaseñor and Espinosa-García 2004;Ramírez-Albores et al 2019).…”

“…Publications on alien plant species in Mexico are scarce, scattered and variable (Espinosa-García and Villaseñor 2017;Ramírez-Albores et al 2019). Some information is available for the whole country, but most results are restricted to central Mexico or the northern states (Espinosa-García et al 2004a;Villaseñor and Espinosa-García 2004;Ramírez-Albores et al 2019). A major effort is needed to study the present-day situation at different scales (Espinosa-García 2009; Espinosa-García and Villaseñor 2017).…”