Progress in invasion biology: predicting invaders

Predicting which species are probable invaders has been a long-standing goa l of ecologists, but only recently have quantitative methods been used to a chieve such a goal. Although restricted to few taxa, these studies reveal c lear relationships between the characteristics of releases and the species involved, and the successful establishment and spread of invaders. For exam ple, the probability of bird establishment increases with the number of ind ividuals released and the number of release events. Also, the probability o f plant invasiveness increases if the species has a history of invasion and reproduces vegetatively. These promising quantitative approaches should be more widely applied to allow us to predict patterns of invading species mo re successfully.