Unwanted Visitors

Biological invasions by aliens – species transported by human activities to areas where they do not naturally occur – represent one of the primary ways in which people are changing the natural world. Biological invasions are a consequence of a combination of factors - human choices, species characteristics, and environmental conditions - and so their study weaves together elements of history, biology, and geography. I will talk about some recent findings in the science of alien invasions, and present examples of the kind of problems that these species can cause.

It’s official: you (public and scientists) hate wasps. I’ll be explaining why this is unjustified: wasps are wonderful and their importance in the ecology and economy of our planet is vastly under-appreciated. It’s time for wasps to step out of the wings and join the more loved insects (e.g. bees butterflies) as the ‘little things that run the world’.