Gregory+Niguidula+-+Shifts+in+Sign+Systems

Fortunately for me, I think the field of invasion ecology is beginning to shift towards a systems thinking approach that takes into account more than just the ecosystem being studied, something my thesis will likely advocate for. The field of invasion ecology was founded when Charles Elton published //The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants// in 1958. It has been argued several times since then that his ideas created and perpetuated a divide between invasion ecology and the rest of the scientific community. Though the field has been criticized for not making much progress in its half-century of existence, its influence on policy is unquestionable. National laws and an executive order have been enacted for the sole purpose of controlling invasive species, an effect not many science disciplines can claim to have. There are a few assumptions that seem to govern the current mindset of invasion ecologists, though they may be losing their grip. The most important of these assumptions is that invasive species are inherently dangerous. The other is the unstandardized “I’ll know it when I see it” mentality when it comes to classifying species as invasive, native, non-indigenous, and so on. It would seem that in recent years (starting in the early 2000s) the idea of invasion ecology expanding its “field of view,” so to speak, has gained a lot of traction, especially in Europe. Scientists have begun to publish articles in scientific journals calling for invasive species ecologists to utilize ideas from other disciplines, not just other branches of ecology, but also social sciences. Studies analyzing the social effects of invasive species have become commonplace. This may be a result of the emphasis on interdisciplinarity that many major research centers have embraced. Regardless, this has led to more articles pointing out and challenging the governing assumptions in invasive species literature.