i don't like the concept of 'invasive species' i don't know how to make it functional without running into ethical issues i can't sign off on
like on the one level i obviously understand that some plants were introduced into ecosystems in which their behaviors are so aggressive that they destroy the biodiversity of an area........ but at the same time creatures are escaping the conditions that created them and radically changing other ecosystems, creating new pressures which force the life of those ecosystems to transform too.
how do i draw a line here?
thank you "BasedOmniMan" for giving me such a palpable example of why i'm suspicious of this terminology!
@exiliaex ugh. yeah. i remember feeling this a lot too, particularly early on learning more about ecological restoration, checking out my local gardening groups, listening to how people talk about invasive asian plants (myself being asian - and i've heard similar feelings from otheres). it was more subtle than this example you posted... but... it's a thing i felt really sensitized to and uneasy about... yeah, ignorant and racist people are gonna be that way, and appropriate science concepts to propagate their fucked up views on other human beings. and you don't have to listen to them... I doubt this jackass in your twitter replies is an ecologist, but i agree with you, it's definitely worth paying attention to how we think about this stuff because we truly cannot have right relations with ecology without the same care towards other people.
@exiliaex this is basically what european twitter is like
Some good, lesser-known material along the same lines if you haven't come across it:
Kollibri terre Sonnenblume is a fascinating individual who has written a short book on the subject (and currently writing a longer one). Also writes about related topics on his blog. He interviewed Tao Orion about their book, as well as Dr. Matt Chew who is a leading academic critic of invasion biology, on his podcast (links to blog and podcast on front page of his website):
i was sent some things that might further my criticisms and suspicions.
like an academic back and forth published in journals about invasion biology:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10539-018-9644-0
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10539-019-9704-0#Bib1
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10539-023-09892-3
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-019-02259-w
and a book by Tao Orion called 'Beyond the War on Invasive Species" that i'm gonna try to pick up