Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 82 (4): 497-505, 2009
COMMENTARY
Quantitative analysis of the research in biological invasions in Chile: Trends and
challenges
CONSTANZA L. QUIROZ, ANÍBAL PAUCHARD, LOHENGRIN A. CAVIERES & CHRISTOPHER B.
During the last decades, the study of biological invasions has reached an unforeseeable
peak both in the theoretical and applied dimensions. In this article, we assess the trends in research on biological invasions in Chile
between the years 1991 and 2008. The analysis was performed for animals and plants, according to the focus of the study, and the
methods used in the article. The time series of published articles on biological invasions in Chile is significantly related to the number of
publications on biological invasions world-wide. We found that most studies in Chile have focused on the invasion of introduced
species, followed by the naturalization of species and finally, species introduction. The study of invasion patterns has more often been
evaluated in introduced plants than animals, while the study of the impact of introduced species shows the opposite trend. Most studies
of introduced plants and animals have used a sampling approach, followed by experimental studies. We conclude that there are still
some important challenges for researchers focused on biological invasions, including: 1) along with describing patterns, the studies
should also aim to understand the processes behind these patterns, 2) more experimental work should be incorporated, specially
assessing invasion impacts, 3) a greater integration should exist between conservation and ecosystem restoration, and 4) local
studies should consider current conceptual frameworks.
alien, exotics, invasion
ecology, non-native, scientific productivity
