Species introductions are a pervasive challenge for native ecosystems. We will focus on three fundamental knowledge gaps of invasion science: First, evolution within the native community as a response to the invasion; Second, role of cascading effects through the food web and consequent effects on ecosystem function caused by invasions; Third, rise of evolutionary cascades where adaptive evolution of traits in one organism and the associated ecological impacts modify the selective environment and lead to evolutionary changes throughout the trophic levels of an ecosystem. We will focus on the ongoing invasion of the Harris mud crab, which is dramatically changing the littoral ecosystem of the Archipelago Sea: because there has previously not occurred similar crabs, this entirely new type of predator is changing the predation regime and natural selection for native invertebrate species, the effects of which are likely to cascade on the level of primary producers and ecosystem services.

2023

2027