Combining bottom-up and top-down analyses to test fundamental concepts in invasion biology

入侵生物学研究已被引入其原生范围以外地区的物种。它的许多基本概念缺乏坚实的经验基础，例如抗性假说(说更丰富和更少干扰的生物群对入侵者提供了更多的抵抗力)或敌人释放假说(它解释了入侵者从被留在原生范围内的敌人那里释放出来而取得成功)。我建议通过结合两种方法来测试这些概念和其他概念。首先，我将创建一个岛屿和大陆的全球数据集，其中包含被引入其中的动植物数量、在那里建立的数量和传播的数量的信息，分别针对不同的分类群。该数据集还将提供有关岛屿和大陆特征的信息(例如面积、生物多样性、人口密度)。这种自上而下的方法将对阻力假说进行有力的检验。其次，存在许多个体入侵事件的案例研究，但这些知识来源尚未被用于研究入侵生物学的基本模式。我建议集体分析案例研究，并将这种自下而上方法的结果与自上而下分析的结果(上面提出的方法和以前发表的方法)进行比较。将这两种方法结合起来将支持或帮助修订入侵生物学的基本概念。

Invasion biology investigates species that have been introduced to areas beyond their native range. Many of its fundamental concepts lack a firm empirical basis, e.g. the resistance hypothesis (which says that richer and less disturbed biota offer more resistance against invaders) or the enemy release hypothesis (which explains the success of invaders by their release from enemies, which are left behind in the native range). I propose to test these and other concepts by combining two approaches. First, I will create a global dataset of islands and continents with information on the number of animals and plants that were introduced to each of them, the number that established there, and the number that spread, separately for different taxonomic groups. The dataset will also provide information on the characteristics of the islands and continents (e.g. area, biodiversity, human population density). This top-down approach will provide a powerful test of the resistance hypothesis. Second, case studies of many individual invasion events exist, but this source of knowledge has not been used to investigate fundamental patterns in invasion biology. I propose to collectively analyze case studies and to compare the results of this bottom-up approach with those of top-down analyses (the one proposed above and previously published ones). Combining these two approaches will either support or help revising fundamental concepts in invasion biology.