Gregory+Niguidula+-+Analysis+of+Simberloff+Review+Article

Simberloff, Daniel. “Biological Invasions: What’s Worth Fighting and What Can Be Won?” //Ecological Engineering// 65 (2014): 112–121. //ScienceDirect//. Web. 6 Sept. 2014.

Daniel Simberloff has been researching invasive species for years and is one of the more well-known names in the field. He has so far refused to compromise on the idea that invasive species are threats to be controlled or exterminated. In this article, he rejects the idea that the problem has been exaggerated by literature and also rejects the idea that some invasions are not worth fighting because such efforts are costly have had little success. One of his justifications is the fact that relatively few invasions are studied. Where some might say this is reason not to pursue action, Simberloff fully expects that more dangerous species will be identified as more research is completed, so it would be prudent to control them sooner, rather than later. He also cites cases in which invasive species have spent long periods of time in foreign environments before experiencing a population explosion; this is what he refers to as an “invasion debt” that will have to be paid sooner or later.

The greatest flaw in Simberloff’s argument is the missing explanation as to why species that are actively changing the environment present a problem. It is only the natural response of ecosystems to reorganize themselves, (even if the cause of said change is not natural) and that is happening more quickly than ever thanks to climate change. This is never accounted for in his article, and the only time that climate change is mentioned is when he is comparing those that doubt the dangers of invasive species to climate change deniers. The analogy is unnecessarily harsh and does little to further his argument. Also, he shifts the burden of proof to those that oppose his point of view, saying that to prove that invasives can provide ecosystem services require a much larger analysis than what is currently published. This is not completely invalid, but the exact same thing could be said about some of his arguments. While many of his points were valid, most notably his arguments that invasive species management can be effective, but unfortunately it would seem that desired natures are at least part of the motivating factors in Simberloff’s research. Not explaining why ecosystems being different is dangerous is perhaps the greatest indicator. It indicates that he is not interested in allowing change to happen (Simberloff).