Why worry about globalisation

The aim of this section is to examine your own understanding of the importance of invaders. In Topic 2 - The Impacts of Invaders, you will have the opportunity to examine and analyse the threats posed by invaders identified through literature searching and your reading activities.

At this stage you are being asked to identify your current position on invaders so you can reflect back on that at the end of the unit to see how much has changed for you.

Explore the global changes that increase the threat of invasions and reflect on your understanding of the importance of invaders at this stage in the unit. Your current understanding may be informed by your personal views, by the readings given in Activities 1 & 2, and by the following:

  • Reading 1.8
     McNeeley, J. A. (2000). The Future of Alien Invasive Species: Changing Social Views. Mooney, H.A. and Hobbs, R.J. (eds) Invasive species in a Changing World. Island Press, Washington D.C. Pp. 171-189.
  • Reading 1.9
    Meyerson, L. A. and Mooney, H. A. Invasive alien species in an era of globalization. (2009). Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 5 (4): 199-208.
  • Reading 1.10
    McNeely, J. A. (2005). Human dimensions of alien invasive species. In: Invasive alien species: A new synthesis. (Eds H. A. Mooney., R. N. Mack., J. A. McNeeley., L.E. Neveille., P.J. Schei and J. K. Waage). SCOPE, Paris. Pp 285-292.
  • Reading 1.11
     Hulme, P. E. (2009). Trade, transport and trouble: managing invasive species pathways in an era of globalization. Journal of Applied Ecology 46: 10-18

Now complete assignment 1.


Assignment 1: The History and Impact of Invaders

This is your first assessment item. You are required to prepare a presentation.

Task: Choose one tropical invasive species in Australia that interests you. Prepare a 10 minute talk describing the history and impacts of this invasive species in Australia. Your powerpoint presentation will be delivered to the class either in the tutorial session (internal students) or via Wimba (external students). Two minutes will be allocated for question time at the end of each presentation. Please bring your presentation to the tutorial on a USB drive or e-mail your presentation to your lecturer well before the class.

Hints- Some of the questions to consider while preparing your talk include:

  • What is the history behind the introduction of the species into Australia? Was it introduced intentionally or accidently? Was there an underlying philosophy at the time (e.g acclimatisation, agricultural development?).
  • What are the impacts of this species? Does the species have environmental, economic or social impacts?
  • What is the current management response to this invader (i.e is it being managed? How the impacts of this species may have influenced the way that it has been managed? Consider the goal of the management program for the species (e.g eradication, containment, or control) and why the species in being controlled.

Students will be assessed on both the preparation/planning of their talk, their seminar content and presentation quality, as well as question time.