Alien versus native species as drivers of recent extinctions
Open accessAbstract
Native plants and animals can rapidly become superabundant and dominate ecosystems, leading to claims that native species are no less likely than alien species to cause environmental damage, including biodiversity loss. We compared how frequently alien and native species have been implicated as drivers of recent extinctions in a comprehensive global database, the 2017 International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) Red List of Threatened Species. Alien species were considered to be a contributing cause of 25% of plant extinctions and 33% of animal extinctions, whereas native species were implicated in less than 5% and 3% of plant and animal extinctions, respectively. When listed as a putative driver of recent extinctions, native species were more often associated with other extinction drivers than were alien species. Our results offer additional evidence that the biogeographic origin, and hence evolutionary history, of a species are determining factors of its potential to cause disruptive environmental impacts.
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Invasive alien species are listed as a driver of extinction for 261 of 782 animal species and in 39 of 153 plant species worldwide.
“Invasive alien species are listed as one driver of extinction for 261 of 782 animal species and in 39 of 153 plant species worldwide; for both groups, IAS rank as the most frequent cause, ahead of hunting, harvesting, and agriculture (Blackburn, Bellard, & Ricciardi, 2019).”
From Scientists' warning on invasive alien species (2020) · cites this paper as Blackburn, Bellard, & Ricciardi, 2019
For both animals and plants, invasive alien species rank as the most frequent cause of extinction, ahead of hunting, harvesting, and agriculture.
“Invasive alien species are listed as one driver of extinction for 261 of 782 animal species and in 39 of 153 plant species worldwide; for both groups, IAS rank as the most frequent cause, ahead of hunting, harvesting, and agriculture (Blackburn, Bellard, & Ricciardi, 2019).”
From Scientists' warning on invasive alien species (2020) · cites this paper as Blackburn, Bellard, & Ricciardi, 2019
The contribution of alien species to plant and animal extinctions is an order of magnitude higher than that of native species, which were implicated in fewer than 5% of plant extinctions and 3% of animal extinctions.
“these figures are an order of magnitude higher than for native species, which were implicated in fewer than 5% and 3% of plant and animal extinctions, respectively (Blackburn, Bellard, & Ricciardi, 2019).”
From Scientists' warning on invasive alien species (2020) · cites this paper as Blackburn, Bellard, & Ricciardi, 2019
Alien species contributed to 25% of plant extinctions and 33% of terrestrial and freshwater animal extinctions.
“A recent analysis of data on global extinctions in the IUCN Red List database (IUCN, 2017) revealed that alien species contributed to 25% of plant extinctions and 33% of terrestrial and freshwater animal extinctions; these figures are an order of magnitude higher than for native species, which were implicated in fewer than 5% and 3% of plant and animal extinctions, respectively (Blackburn, Bellard”
From Scientists' warning on invasive alien species (2020) · cites this paper as Blackburn, Bellard, & Ricciardi, 2019
The most vulnerable species to invasive alien species are island endemics that have limited experience of mammalian predators or herbivores and nowhere to escape to.
“The most vulnerable species are island endemics that have limited experience of mammalian predators or herbivores and nowhere to escape to [see Pyšek et al., 2017a; Blackburn, Bellard, & Ricciardi, 2019 and references therein].”
From Scientists' warning on invasive alien species (2020) · cites this paper as Blackburn, Bellard, & Ricciardi, 2019
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Scientists' warning on invasive alien species
Pyšek, P., Hulme, P. E., Simberloff, D., Bacher, S., Blackburn, T. M., Carlton, J. T., Dawson, W., Essl, F., Foxcroft, L. C., Genovesi, P., et al. (2020) · Biological Reviews · doi:10.1111/brv.12627 · Cited by 2,234 · see citing works
Self-citationMapping human pressures on biodiversity across the planet uncovers anthropogenic threat complexes
Bowler, D. E., Bjorkman, A. D., Dornelas, M., Myers‐Smith, I. H., Navarro, L. M., Niamir, A., Supp, S. R., Waldock, C., Winter, M., Vellend, M., et al. (2020) · People and Nature · doi:10.1002/pan3.10071 · Cited by 287 · see citing works
Hodson, J., Harwood, M., Choy, K., Cadley, E., Newman, A.-J., & South, J. (2026) · Biological Invasions · doi:10.1007/s10530-026-03864-w
“Invasive species are a major driver of biodiversity loss worldwide (Bellard et al. 2016; Doherty et al. 2016; Blackburn et al. 2019; IPBES 2019), particularly within freshwaters (Sala et al. 2000; Cox and Lima 2006) which are typically heavily invaded (Strayer 2010).”
- Authors
- Blackburn, T. M., Bellard, C., & Ricciardi, A.
- Affiliations
- Zoological Society of London (GB)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Stellenbosch University (ZA)
- Corresponding author
- Blackburn, Tim M
- Venue
- Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2019-03-04
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 203-207
- ISSN
- 1540-9295 (ISSN-L)
- 1540-9309
- OpenAlex
- W2919277492
- Cited by
- 418
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 47 · 2025: 59 · 2024: 73 · 2023: 60 · 2022: 78 · 2021: 52 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 13 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 31.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hal.science
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- SUNScholar (Stellenbosch University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecological Modeling › Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Keywords
- introduced species, native species, extinction drivers, species extinction, IUCN Red List, invasive species, biodiversity loss, biogeographic origin, evolutionary history, plant extinction, animal extinction
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