‘The Denialists Are Coming!’ Well, Not Exactly: A Response to Russell and Blackburn

Davis, Mark A.; Chew, Matthew K.

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2017.02.008

Cited by 30 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…We are in agreement with others that they must stop (Crowley et al. ; Davis & Chew ; Boltovskoy et al. ; Guiaşu & Tindale ; Sagoff ).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 93%

“…However, for the purposes of this article, it is significant that other scientists disputed whether ISD was actually occurring, pointing to the fact that Russell and Blackburn provided only anecdotal evidence for it (Crowley et al. ; Davis & Chew ). In reply to their critics, Russell and Blackburn () claimed “invasive species denial is increasing” but provided no evidence for this assertion.…”

Section: Conservation‐science Denialismmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The article was heavily critiqued in published responses from other scientists (Briggs ; Crowley et al. ; Davis & Chew ; Tassin et al. ), and it is not our intention to reprise the issues they raised.…”

Section: Conservation‐science Denialismmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

On allegations of invasive species denialism

Munro

Steer

Linklater

2019

Conservation Biology

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Science denialism retards evidenced‐based policy and practice and should be challenged. It has been a particular concern for mitigating global environmental issues, such as anthropogenic climate change. But allegations of science denialism must also be well founded and evidential or they risk eroding public trust in science and scientists. Recently, 77 published works by scholars, scientists, and science writers were identified as containing invasive species denialism (ISD; i.e., rejection of well‐supported facts about invasive species, particularly the global scientific consensus about their negative impacts). We reevaluated 75 of these works but could find no examples of refutation of scientific facts and only 5 articles with text perhaps consistent with one of the 5 characteristics of science denialism. We found, therefore, that allegations of ISD were misplaced. These accusations of science denialism may have arisen because invasion biology defines its subjects—invasive species—based on multiple subjective and normative judgments. Thus, more than other applied sciences its consensus is one of shared values as much as agreed knowledge. Criticisms of invasion biology have largely targeted those subjective and normative judgments and their global imposition, not the knowledge on which the discipline is based. Regrettably, a few invasion biologists have misinterpreted the critique of their values‐based consensus as a denial of their science when it is not. To make invasion biology a more robust and widely accepted science and to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and conflicts, invasion biologists could be more accepting of perspectives originating from other disciplines and more open to values‐based critique from scholars and scientists outside their field. This recommendation applies to all conservation sciences, especially those addressing global challenges, because these sciences must serve and be relevant to communities with an extraordinary diversity of cultures and values.

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“…We are in agreement with others that they must stop (Crowley et al. ; Davis & Chew ; Boltovskoy et al. ; Guiaşu & Tindale ; Sagoff ).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Conservation‐science Denialismmentioning

confidence: 97%

See 1 more Smart Citation

On allegations of invasive species denialism

Munro

Steer

Linklater

2019

Conservation Biology

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“…Moreover, environmental change, altered human activities and new socio‐political conflicts are likely to further increase invasion risk (Ricciardi et al, ). Yet, it is increasingly debated whether invasive species fundamentally differ from natives and whether the distinction between alien and native origin is thus valuable (Davis & Chew, ; Davis et al, ; Hulme, Pyšek, & Duncan, ; Lambertini et al, ; Richardson & Ricciardi, ; Russell & Blackburn, ; Thompson & Davis, ; Valéry, Fritz, & Lefeuvre, ; van Kleunen, Dawson, & Dostal, ). However, ecological arguments for distinguishing among alien and native species include the fact that alien species do not constitute a random sample of all species from across the globe.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biotic resistance or introduction bias? Immigrant plant performance decreases with residence times over millennia

Sheppard

Schurr

2018

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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Aim Invasions are dynamic processes. Invasive spread causes the geographical range size of alien species to increase with residence time. However, with time native competitors and antagonists can adapt to invaders. This build‐up of biotic resistance may eventually limit the invader’s performance and reduce its range size. Using a species‐for‐time approach, we test (a) whether native communities more strongly reduce the fitness of immigrants with longer residence times, and (b) whether the range size of immigrant species shows a unimodal response to residence time. Location Germany. Time period 18,000 years BP to present. Major taxa studied 352 plant species in the Asteraceae family. Methods For plant species with a wide range of minimum residence times in Germany (6–18,000 years), we combined a common garden experiment with historical and macroecological analyses. In a multi‐species experiment, we quantified the effect of native communities on fitness components of 30 annual Asteraceae. For these and other species, we then analysed how current range size depends on minimum residence time and other covariates. Results Native communities reduced survival, reproductive output and fitness of Asteraceae. This fitness reduction was stronger for immigrant species with long residence times. We found a unimodal relationship between range size and residence time of Asteraceae in Germany, when including natives that immigrated after the last glaciation. Main conclusions Biotic resistance may limit the performance and geographical ranges of immigrant species over long time‐scales. The initial advantages invaders have over natives thus may not persist over millennia, supporting the concept of an alien–native species continuum defined by gradual changes in eco‐evolutionary processes. While our analysis controlled for major ecological, evolutionary and biogeographical factors, it is conceivable that the detected patterns are influenced by additional differences between natives and aliens. Experimental macroecology has great potential to disentangle these processes and predict long‐term invasion dynamics.

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“…The concept is simple: citizen scientists report the presence of invaders, and the information is thereby made available to the authorities, who are then able to follow through with appropriate control measures. From an economic entomology perspective, such a database is clearly justified, but it is not clear that such is the case from a biodiversity conservation standpoint, where a fascinating debate has arisen, centred around the degree to which socio-political metaphors (e.g., "invasion" as a military metaphor, for a purely ecological phenomenon) are biasing the attitudes of conservation biologists toward introduced species (e.g., Davis and Chew 2017;Russell and Blackburn 2017).…”

Section: Online Database Projectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Entomological citizen science in Canada

Acorn

2017

Can Entomol

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Abstract-Citizen science involves voluntary participation in the scientific process, typically by gathering data in order to monitor some aspect of the natural world. Entomological citizen science, as an extension of traditional amateur entomology, is an active field in Canada, with online databases such as eButterfly and BugGuide attracting both contributors and database users. As well, traditional amateur entomology continues to be important in Canada, as do short-term insect-themed educational events, the involvement of amateurs in entomological societies, and online crowdsourcing initiatives. Success of citizen science projects can be measured in many ways. In terms of published papers that analyse trends in citizen science data, Canadian projects have only begun to deliver. More valuable are particular records that improve our knowledge of geographic ranges and phenology. In terms of the endurance of particular projects, and the willingness of volunteers to participate, citizen science entomology in Canada is clearly a success. However, quality control of citizen science data remains an issue for some projects. As well, challenges remain with respect to balancing the goals of researchers, participants, and supporting institutions.

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‘The Denialists Are Coming!’ Well, Not Exactly: A Response to Russell and Blackburn

Cited by 30 publications

References 3 publications

On allegations of invasive species denialism

On allegations of invasive species denialism

Biotic resistance or introduction bias? Immigrant plant performance decreases with residence times over millennia

Entomological citizen science in Canada

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