To be, or not to be, a non-native species in non-English languages: gauging terminological consensus amongst invasion biologists
Vilizzi L. Piria M. Pietraszewski D. Yoğurtçuoğlu B. Almeida D. Al-Wazzan Z. Atique U. Boggero A. Duniš L. Goulletquer P. Herczeg G. Jukonienė I. Kopecký O. Koutsikos N. Koyama A. Kvach Y. Li S. Lukas J. Malmstrøm M. Marszał L. Mendoza R. Monteiro J.G. Perdikaris C. Petrulaitis L. Pickholtz R. Preda C. Simonović P. Slovák Švolíková K. Špelić I. Števove B. Suresh V.R. Ualiyeva D. Vardakas L. Verreycken H. Vila-Gispert A. Wei H. Yazlık A. Zięba G. Giannetto D.
2025Regional Euro-Asian Biological Invasions Centre
Management of Biological Invasions
2025#16Issue 1 Special Issue15 - 31 pp.
In invasion biology, terminological frameworks contribute to the improvement of effective communication among scientists, stakeholders, and policy-makers. This is important not only for informing policy decisions but also for engaging the broader public in understanding the risks associated with biological invasions. Meanwhile, the role of non-English languages in advancing knowledge in invasion biology has gained momentum in recent years. Building on the seminal contributions in this scientific discipline by Professor Gordon H. Copp, this paper examines the provision of three key terms defining species invasiveness in 28 non-English languages. We first define the three non-redundant terms “non-native species”, “established species”, and “invasive species”. Through a comparative analysis of the equivalent of these terms in the 28 non-English languages, as contributed by our panel of invasion biologists and native speakers, with those in a reference review paper, and following the diffusion-of-English versus ecology-of-language paradigms, we identify discrepancies and nuances reflecting the dynamic nature of terminology in invasion biology. While some languages showed consensus in terminology, others differed due to either the avoidance of a culturally or politically laden term for “non-native” or the achievement of greater precision in meaning. Our findings highlight the requirement for clear and precise terminology in invasion biology and suggest the adoption of multidisciplinary approaches to reach consensus and facilitate communication amongst scientists, policy-makers, and the general public in a globally interconnected and rapidly changing world. This will enhance international collaboration and accelerate knowledge exchange, leading to more effective management of biological invasions.
diffusion-of-English , ecology-of-language , established species , invasive species
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University of Lodz, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology, Lodz, 90-237, Poland
Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences, The Graduate School, University of Santo Tomas, Metro Manila, Manila, 1008, Philippines
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Fisheries, Apiculture, Wildlife Management and Special Zoology, Zagreb, 10000, Croatia
Hydrobiology section, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Çankaya, 06800, Turkey
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, Boadilla del Monte, 28668, Spain
Environment Public Authority, Shuwaikh Industrial, 70050, Kuwait
Department of Geography and Planning, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3BX, United Kingdom
National Research Council-Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Verbania Pallanza, 28922, Italy
University of Primorska, Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, Koper, 6000, Slovenia
Scientific Direction, French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER), Nantes, 44311, France
Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Institute of Biology, ELTE-Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
HUN-REN-ELTE-MTM Integrative Ecology Research Group, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
Nature Research Centre, Institute of Botany, Vilnius, 12200, Lithuania
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Humanities and Education, Technical University of Liberec, Třebízského 1244/2, Liberec, 460 01, Czech Republic
Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources & Inland Waters, Attica, Anavissos, 19013, Greece
Fishery Research Laboratory, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 811-3304, Japan
Institute of Marine Biology, NAS of Ukraine, Odessa, 65048, Ukraine
Natural History Research Center, Shanghai Natural History Museum, Branch of Shanghai Science & Technology Museum, Shanghai, 200041, China
Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, 12587, Germany
Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, 10099, Germany
Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM), Oslo, NO-0213, Norway
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, 66455, Mexico
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Madeira, Funchal, 9000-072, Portugal
MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Regional Agency for the Development of Research (ARDITI), Funchal, 9000-072, Portugal
Department of Fisheries, Regional Unit of Thesprotia, Region of Epirus, Igoumenitsa, 46 100, Greece
School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Ovidius University of Constanta, Constanta, 900470, Romania
Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia
Department of Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Mlynská dolina, Bratislava, 842 15, Slovakia
Division of Mariculture, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kerala, Cochin, 682018, India
Laboratory of Ornithology and Herpetology, Institute of Zoology, Ministry of Education and Sciences, Almaty, 050060, Kazakhstan
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Linkebeek, B-1630, Belgium
Institute of Aquatic Ecology and Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Girona, Girona, 17003, Spain
Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Aquatic Invasive Alien Species (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Key Laboratory of Alien Species and Ecological Security (CAFS), Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fisheries Science, Guangdong, Guangzhou, 510380, China
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Düzce University, Düzce, 81620, Turkey
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Muğla, 48000, Turkey
University of Lodz
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Zagreb
Hydrobiology section
Department of Basic Medical Sciences
Environment Public Authority
Department of Geography and Planning
National Research Council-Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA)
University of Primorska
Scientific Direction
Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology
HUN-REN-ELTE-MTM Integrative Ecology Research Group
Nature Research Centre
Department of Biology
Hellenic Centre for Marine Research
Fishery Research Laboratory
Institute of Marine Biology
Natural History Research Center
Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes
Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences
Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM)
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León
Faculty of Life Sciences
MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre
Department of Fisheries
School of Zoology
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Faculty of Biology
Department of Ecology
Division of Mariculture
Laboratory of Ornithology and Herpetology
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
Institute of Aquatic Ecology and Department of Environmental Sciences
Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Aquatic Invasive Alien Species (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs)
Department of Plant Protection
Department of Biology
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