The Language of Fighting Invasive Species

CLERGEAU, P. NUÑEZ, M. A.

SCIENCE

Año: 2006 vol. 311 p. 951 - 951

0036-8075

IN HIS ARTICLE “WINNING THE WAR AGAINST ISLAND INVADERS” (NEWS Focus, 2 Dec. 2005, p. 1410), K. Krajick presents an interesting point of view about eradication of exotic species on islands. However, despite the fact that exotic species are a leading cause of biodiversity loss, there is growing concern about the language (1) and the attitude (2) used by researchers in this area, since they may not be the most appropriate ways to capture the attention and support of laypeople. Gobster argues that the language used is too aggressive and strategies, such as eradication, are too brutal, pushing some organizations to stand against programs controlling exotic species. Public support is a fundamental part of any successful program dealing with exotics, and it has been shown that taking account of invader impacts is an important axis of biological conservation (3, 4). Biological invasions are complex: Interventions against rats that established on islands several centuries ago may require some discussions on possible nontarget effects and methods, but waiting to see the impact of a recently introduced species before attempting eradication is a crime against ecosystems, given current knowledge on the impact of alien species (5). The challenge today is educating the public on the negative effects of exotic species to obtain their support. Reducing the strength of the language used could increase thesupport of some groups, together with education to help them understand that, given their effects and the difficulties in predicting the success of exotic species, eradication is in some cases the only logical solution