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closeLogic
Posted by Anekeia on 22 Apr 2011 at 19:08 GMT
The Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) is a common invasive species worldwide in regions with mediterranean or subtropical climates like much of California [1].
http://plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0018717#article1.body1.sec1.p1
Can Argentine ants be meaningfully called both common worldwide and invasive? If it has already become common and well-established, what is it invading? Is it appropriate to assert that the species exists worldwide and then back off to specify Mediterranean or subtropical climates? Such enthusiastic but confused advocacy is endemic to invasion biology, but contributes nothing (at best) to the research findings.
RE: Logic
mpecarevic replied to Anekeia on 09 Jun 2011 at 11:02 GMT
Of course a species can be both common worldwide and invasive.
Invasiveness implies a certain type of behavior/strategy which can be viewed at multiple scales.