The world is globalising, and nature is no exception.More and more plants, animals and microbes are crossingnatural barriers and settling in new areas. The sumtotal of these biological invasions can be termed 'biologicalglobalisation: Although this proliferation is anythingbut new, it is now accelerating as a result of climatechange, the globalisation of traffic and transportand the breakdown of distribution barriers. One of theimpacts of bio-globalisation is the decline in differencesbetween biotas: 'biotic homogenisation: Charles Elton's groundbreaking The Ecology ofInvasions by Plants and Animals was published in 1958.Since then several more books on the subject of bioinvasionshave seen the light of day, and yet there arestill very few books that describe not only the effects onnature and biodiversity, agriculture and other productivesectors, but also the consequences for publichealth. For the Netherlands there is no general overviewavailable at all. In 2003 it occurred to one of us, Wouter van derWeijden of the Centre for Agriculture and Environment,to write such a report He then approached Pieter Bol atDelft University of Technology and Rob Leewis, who atthat time worked at the Netherlands EnvironmentalAssessment Agency. This led to a unique and fruitfulcollaboration between three scientists from diverse disciplines:a biologist specialising in zoogeography, terrestrialecology and agriculture; an aquatic biologist;and a medical epidemiologist with a broad knowledgeof history. The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Natureand Food Quality, which was already developing a policypaper on invasive exotic species, was willing to paysome of the costs. The result was the report Biologische globolisering -omvong, oorzoken, gevolgen, hondelingsperspectieven(Biological globalisation - extent, causes, effects andoptions, 2005). The next logical step was this Englishlanguage book. KNNV Publishers agreed to publish thebook and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and FoodQuality made an additional financial contribution.This unique book integrates biological, agricultural, m~dicalhistorical and economic knowledge on b1olog1calglobalisation. It treats invading micro-organisms, plantsand animals alike in their multiple impacts on nature andbiodiversity, the economy and human health.

Preface 5

1 Introduction 7

2 The nature and scope of bio-globalisation 9

The role of geographical barriers in evolution 9

Islands and lakes 9

Effects of crossing geographical barriers 11

3 History, drivers, mechanisms and pathways of C2\bio-invasions 20

Early history 20

The Columbian Exchange 21

Drivers 21

Mechanisms and pathways 22

Success of invasions 23

4 Patterns of bio-invasions 39

How do bio-invasions proceed over time? 39

Changes following invasion 41

Which species are invasive? 43

Which species are vulnerable? 44

Which bioregions and ecosystems provide invasive species? 44

Which bioregions and ecosystems are susceptible to invasions? 46

Can we, and should we, control bio-invasions? 47

Prevention 49

Eradication 49

Containment and control 49

5 Impacts on nature, biodiversity and environmental quality 66

Biodiversity generally 66

Biodiversity on continents 66

Biodiversity on islands 67

Biodiversity in lakes 69

Mechanisms 69

Last-resort remedies 69

Effects on environmental quality 69

6 Impacts on the economy and public health 86

Agriculture and forestry 86

Livestock husbandry 89

Fishery and aquaculture 89

Commercial shipping 89

Waterways 90

Power stations and industry 90

Houses and other buildings 90

Public health 90

Environmental costs 91

Total costs 91

7 The Netherlands and bio-globalisation 116

The biogeographical position of the Netherlands 116

The Netherlands as a player in bio-globalisat1on 117

The Netherlands as an object of bio-globalisation 118

Economic costs from bio-invasions 127

8 Lessons learned and actions needed 161

Lessons learned 161

Actions needed 166

Notes 171

References 179

Illustration Credits 187

Appendix 1 Bio-invasions: definitions and their implications 188

Appendix 2 The economy of bio-invasions: dilemmas in calculating costs 191

Appendix 3 Economic effects of invasive animal diseases in the Netherlands 193

Appendix 4 Calculating productivity losses from human epidemics 200

Appendix 5 Pathways of species introductions 202

Appendix 6 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species 206

Appendix 7 Glossary of terms 209

Index 212

Acknowledgements 222

About the authors 223

Colophon 224

Rob Leewis (1947) studied biology, later specialising in marine biology and ecology. He wrote a PhD thesis on the phytoplanktonoff the Dutch coast (1985). He has worked as a project manager with Rijkswaterstaat, the National Water. Authority, on the environmental impacts of the Delta Works in the southwest of the Netherlands. He studied underwaterlife on dikes and shipwrecks, and co-founded the European Artificial Reef Research Network. He also participated inseveral underwater archaeological projects. Later he worked at the National Institute of Public Health and EnvironmentalProtection (RIVM), coordinating marine research to inform and advice the government on various environmental issues.Currently Rob is chairman of the Dutch Working Group on Exotic Species and a guest researcher for exotic species atthe National Museum of Natural History (Naturalis). He is a professional diver and underwater photographer, has producedseveral books and CD-ROMs on underwater life, and writes for a sport diver magazine.E-mail: r.leewis@cosema.nl

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