<p>A review of Applequist, W. L., editors. 2025. <i>Love Them to Death: Turning Invasive Plants into Local Economic Opportunities</i>. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.</p><p>For field ecologists and land managers dealing with the onslaught of invasive species in natural areas, a new book edited by Wendy Applequist poses an intriguing concept: is it possible to incorporate practical everyday uses of invasive species as part of our management and control toolbox? In other words, can we turn invasive species into economic opportunities that may benefit society and concurrently reduce their numbers and ideally drive them to extinction? What if harvesting vines such as bittersweet or kudzu for basketry or collecting berries from common buckthorn for natural fabric dyes became more popular? Can invasive animals such as lionfish and mud crab be sourced as food for local restaurants? The hopeful optimist in me wants to agree, but the scientific record makes me pause, especially if an invasive species becomes so valued and integrated into society that its removal becomes even more difficult (more on this below).</p><p>As an edited project, this book is structured into 13 chapters which include a mix of academic writing (such as legal regulations regarding “invasivory”, the human consumption of invasive species) and more practical, hands-on information (e.g., how to train cattle to consume invasive plant species). Consequently, the book features different writing styles, which once I got over my own initial hesitation, I ultimately found intriguing and even refreshing to read. The book begins with a brief introduction with the appropriate definition of an invasive species, and the requisite warnings about environmental impacts. The editor rightfully points out that the use of invasive species should only be considered a temporary endeavor, especially if it results in their successful eradication.</p><p>Many of the chapters highlight the uses of a particular plant in its native range (such as kudzu in Chapter 1 or taro in Chapter 2, both excellently written) with the implication that it could be used in a similar way within the introduced range. Other chapters focus instead on one specific type of plant use with different species (such as Chinese medicine in Chapter 7, basketry in Chapter 11, or papermaking in Chapter 13). The level of detail in each of these chapters is exemplary. In particular, I appreciated the emphasis on responsible collecting of invasive plant material in natural areas to prevent any further spread (e.g., harvesting plants before they set seed, uproot entire plants when at all possible). I also felt myself unexpectedly pulled in by Katie Grove’s chapter on basketry, as she explained her philosophy of the ethic of care in using invasive vines to make her baskets, with echoes of <span>Robin Wall Kimmerer’s</span> <i>Braiding Sweetgrass</i> reminding us to appreciate nature. Chapter 7 on “Invasive Plants Used in
{"title":"Can Invasive Species be Loved to Death?","authors":"Theresa M. Culley","doi":"10.1002/bes2.70035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70035","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A review of Applequist, W. L., editors. 2025. <i>Love Them to Death: Turning Invasive Plants into Local Economic Opportunities</i>. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.</p><p>For field ecologists and land managers dealing with the onslaught of invasive species in natural areas, a new book edited by Wendy Applequist poses an intriguing concept: is it possible to incorporate practical everyday uses of invasive species as part of our management and control toolbox? In other words, can we turn invasive species into economic opportunities that may benefit society and concurrently reduce their numbers and ideally drive them to extinction? What if harvesting vines such as bittersweet or kudzu for basketry or collecting berries from common buckthorn for natural fabric dyes became more popular? Can invasive animals such as lionfish and mud crab be sourced as food for local restaurants? The hopeful optimist in me wants to agree, but the scientific record makes me pause, especially if an invasive species becomes so valued and integrated into society that its removal becomes even more difficult (more on this below).</p><p>As an edited project, this book is structured into 13 chapters which include a mix of academic writing (such as legal regulations regarding “invasivory”, the human consumption of invasive species) and more practical, hands-on information (e.g., how to train cattle to consume invasive plant species). Consequently, the book features different writing styles, which once I got over my own initial hesitation, I ultimately found intriguing and even refreshing to read. The book begins with a brief introduction with the appropriate definition of an invasive species, and the requisite warnings about environmental impacts. The editor rightfully points out that the use of invasive species should only be considered a temporary endeavor, especially if it results in their successful eradication.</p><p>Many of the chapters highlight the uses of a particular plant in its native range (such as kudzu in Chapter 1 or taro in Chapter 2, both excellently written) with the implication that it could be used in a similar way within the introduced range. Other chapters focus instead on one specific type of plant use with different species (such as Chinese medicine in Chapter 7, basketry in Chapter 11, or papermaking in Chapter 13). The level of detail in each of these chapters is exemplary. In particular, I appreciated the emphasis on responsible collecting of invasive plant material in natural areas to prevent any further spread (e.g., harvesting plants before they set seed, uproot entire plants when at all possible). I also felt myself unexpectedly pulled in by Katie Grove’s chapter on basketry, as she explained her philosophy of the ethic of care in using invasive vines to make her baskets, with echoes of <span>Robin Wall Kimmerer’s</span> <i>Braiding Sweetgrass</i> reminding us to appreciate nature. Chapter 7 on “Invasive Plants Used in","PeriodicalId":93418,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America","volume":"106 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bes2.70035","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145272689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Delbert L. Smee, Benjamin A. Belgrad, Evan L. Pettis, Joseph W. Reustle, Jessica Lunt
These photographs illustrate the article “Life on the Edge: Two Dissimilar Extreme Events Alter Food Webs Through Modification of Top-Down Control” by Delbert L. Smee, Benjamin A. Belgrad, Evan L. Pettis, Joseph W. Reustle, Jessica Lunt published in Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70141
这些照片说明了Delbert L. Smee, Benjamin A. Belgrad, Evan L. Pettis, Joseph W. Reustle, Jessica Lunt发表在《生态学》上的文章《边缘的生命:两种不同的极端事件通过修改自上而下的控制改变食物网》。https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70141
{"title":"Life on the Edge: Trophic Shifts Following Extreme Weather Events","authors":"Delbert L. Smee, Benjamin A. Belgrad, Evan L. Pettis, Joseph W. Reustle, Jessica Lunt","doi":"10.1002/bes2.70034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70034","url":null,"abstract":"<p>These photographs illustrate the article “Life on the Edge: Two Dissimilar Extreme Events Alter Food Webs Through Modification of Top-Down Control” by Delbert L. Smee, Benjamin A. Belgrad, Evan L. Pettis, Joseph W. Reustle, Jessica Lunt published in <i>Ecology</i>. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70141</p>","PeriodicalId":93418,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America","volume":"106 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bes2.70034","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145272690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
These photographs illustrate the article “Flower Power: Modeling Floral Resources of Wild Cherry (Prunus avium L.) for Bee Pollinators Based on 3D Data” by Zoe Schindler, Elena Larysch, Felix Fornoff, Katja Kröner, Nora Obladen, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Thomas Seifert, Christian Vonderach, and Christopher Morhart published in Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70103
这些照片说明了Zoe Schindler, Elena Larysch, Felix Fornoff, Katja Kröner, Nora Obladen, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Thomas Seifert, Christian Vonderach和Christopher Morhart发表在《生态学》上的文章“花的力量:基于3D数据为蜜蜂传粉者建模野生樱桃(Prunus avium L.)的花卉资源”。https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70103
{"title":"Lasers, Flowers, Bees: Modeling the Number of Flowers and Bee Forage on Cherry Trees Using 3D Point Clouds","authors":"Zoe Schindler, Felix Fornoff, Christopher Morhart","doi":"10.1002/bes2.70033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70033","url":null,"abstract":"<p>These photographs illustrate the article “Flower Power: Modeling Floral Resources of Wild Cherry (<i>Prunus avium</i> L.) for Bee Pollinators Based on 3D Data” by Zoe Schindler, Elena Larysch, Felix Fornoff, Katja Kröner, Nora Obladen, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Thomas Seifert, Christian Vonderach, and Christopher Morhart published in <i>Ecology</i>. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70103</p>","PeriodicalId":93418,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America","volume":"106 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bes2.70033","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145273067","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vicente García-Navas, Rubén Tarifa, Teresa Salido, Ana González-Robles, Antonio López-Orta, Francisco Valera, Pedro J. Rey
These photographs illustrate the article “Threshold responses of birds to agricultural intensification in Mediterranean olive groves” by Vicente García-Navas, Rubén Tarifa, Teresa Salido, Ana González-Robles, Antonio López-Orta, Francisco Valera, and Pedro J. Rey published in Ecological Applications. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70057
这些照片说明了Vicente García-Navas、rub Tarifa、Teresa Salido、Ana González-Robles、Antonio López-Orta、Francisco Valera和Pedro J. Rey发表在《生态应用》上的文章“地中海橄榄园农业集约化对鸟类的阈值反应”。https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70057
{"title":"Olive Groves That Give Wings to Biodiversity","authors":"Vicente García-Navas, Rubén Tarifa, Teresa Salido, Ana González-Robles, Antonio López-Orta, Francisco Valera, Pedro J. Rey","doi":"10.1002/bes2.70032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70032","url":null,"abstract":"<p>These photographs illustrate the article “Threshold responses of birds to agricultural intensification in Mediterranean olive groves” by Vicente García-Navas, Rubén Tarifa, Teresa Salido, Ana González-Robles, Antonio López-Orta, Francisco Valera, and Pedro J. Rey published in <i>Ecological Applications</i>. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70057</p>","PeriodicalId":93418,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America","volume":"106 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bes2.70032","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145273006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
COVER PHOTO: A Toppin’s titi monkey (Plecturocebus toppini) feeds on flowers in southeast Peru. The monkey was observed during fieldwork for a study on mammal diversity patterns along an elevational gradient from the Amazonian lowlands to the high Andean peaks. Detailed field measurements of net primary productivity accurately predicted mammal abundance and diversity, while satellite proxies failed, as described in Holzmann et al. 2025 (https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70059). Photo credit: Kim Holzmann.