Sustainability

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Effects on Biodiversity Induced by Exotic Invasive Species and Their Control Agents

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Many species move from one environment to another every year, settling down and occupying niches adapted to their survival and reproduction. Sometimes their settlement has a great impact on the environment, the society, and the economy in the new colonized areas. By feeding on native organisms, competition for resources or even alteration of the habitat, however, exotic invasive species can be a direct threat to biodiversity. Likewise, the use of conventional or biological pest control, to manage invasive species—often on a large scale and in natural habitats—can have negative environmental effects. Dealing with invasive species and balancing the costs and benefits of their management is thus one of the major challenges for sustainability.

The current Special Issue focuses on:

- The direct effect on biodiversity due to the arrival of a new exotic species into a new environment;

- The effect of niche occupation by an exotic invasive species;

- The utilization of invasive species by native natural enemies;

- The effects on natural enemies due to a variation in the resource availability;

- The effects of classical biological control of a new exotic species on autochthonous species;

- The effects of conventional pest control of invasive species on native species communities.

Prof. Dr. Daniela Lupi
Dr. Jana Collatz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.

Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.

Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.

External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.

e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

12 pages, 1740 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Flowering Characteristics, Local Environment, and Daily Temperature on the Visits Paid by Apis mellifera to the Exotic Crop Phacelia tanacetifolia

by Manuela Giovanetti, Serena Malabusini, Matteo Zugno and Daniela Lupi

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 10186; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610186 - 16 Aug 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1937

Abstract

The opportunity to introduce Phacelia tanacetifolia is still being debated, even if the species is already employed, as it is often sown in rotational set-aside schemes or to support pollinators. Therefore, we need further evidence on its effects on the environment and its attractiveness towards pollinators. This work aims at confirming its appeal towards the honeybee in a mixed agricultural and urban environment in the north of Italy, during late spring and early autumn flowering. We assessed flowering characteristics and honeybee visitation rates by employing observational plots; we recorded resource preferences and behaviours by focal observations and video records; finally, we annotated other flower visitors. Each plant is characterised by one or more flowering stems on which not all flowers open at the same time: an increased number of flowers is, therefore, due to an increase in the number of available flowering stems. Honeybees were highly interested in lacy phacelia resources, especially in nectar collection: pollen collection may not be sufficiently rewarding for bees to dedicate time to it. The only correlation we found was between visitation rates and temperature. Other insects were recorded visiting the flowers: these were especially Hymenoptera; Coleoptera and Lepidoptera were also abundant, while relatively few individuals of Hemiptera and Diptera were recorded. Our results indicate that the mass-flowering of the species is certainly of interest to local pollinators and can be considered to counteract their decline when sown as a single species or in flower mixtures. However, further studies are needed to assess the competition of this plant with native species and its ability to self-regenerate when not purposely planted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects on Biodiversity Induced by Exotic Invasive Species and Their Control Agents)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 34952 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Back-Calculation of Fish Size in Diet Analysis of Piscivorous Predators: A New Index for the Alien Silurus glanis

by Renato Bacchetta, Andrea Marotta, Alessandro Nessi and Paolo Tremolada

Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4322; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084322 - 13 Apr 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2055

Abstract

The wels catfish Silurus glanis has been constantly spreading in many European basins, outside its native range. Being a voracious predator, it is considered to have a severe impact on local fish communities. In the Ticino River (Northern Italy), bones of S. glanis were found in feces from the top predator Lutra lutra. To estimate the control capability of L. lutra for this species and to back-calculate S. glanis’ size from its bone remains, whole skeletons from 27 differently sized S. glanis specimens were analyzed. A double pharyngeal element and all caudal vertebrae emerged as significant items for species identification. The mean length of the pharyngeal element was directly related to fish mass, while for vertebrae, a K-index was proposed to identify the position of each vertebra along the spine and, from this, to calculate the original fish mass. This methodology allowed us to establish that the length of the preyed S. glanis was 85–435 mm, and the ages were between 0+ and 2+ years. The proposed methodology opens new perspectives for more detailed studies on the efficiency of predation by piscivorous species on allochthonous ones. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects on Biodiversity Induced by Exotic Invasive Species and Their Control Agents)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Effects on Biodiversity Induced by Exotic Invasive Species and Their Control Agents

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI