Every country in the world is under constant attack. The attack- ers are not human armies; rather, they are foreign insects, animals,and plants that are being carried,blown,or otherwise transported across borders into new areas.

Most introduced species either die out or fail to have a lasting effect on a new region. Some, however, become major pests, creating economic and ecological effects severe enough to destroy industries and ecosystems. An attack of this magnitude is known as a biological invasion, or bioinvasion for short-and a bioinvasion that affects human structures or endeavors may cause enough damage to qualify as a devastating plague indeed.

The Bioinvasion Process and Outlook

The seeds of a bioinvasion are sown when a plant or animal moves, either by accident or by design, into a new region of the world. The foreign plant or animal is called an exotic; natural residents of...