A general understanding of biological invasions will provide insights into fundamental ecological and evolutionary problems and contribute to more efficient and effective prediction, prevention and control of invasions. We review recent papers that have proposed conceptual frameworks for invasion biology. These papers offer important advances and signal a maturation of the field, but a broad synthesis is still lacking. Conceptual frameworks for invasion do not require invocation of unique concepts, but rather should reflect the unifying principles of ecology and evolutionary biology. A conceptual framework should incorporate multicausality, include interactions between causal factors and account for lags between various stages. We emphasize the centrality of demography in invasions, and distinguish between explaining three of the most important characteristics by which we recognize invasions: rapid local population increase, monocultures or community dominance, and range expansion. As a contribution towards developing a conceptual synthesis of invasions based on these criteria, we outline a framework that explicitly incorporates consideration of the fundamental ecological and evolutionary processes involved. The development of a more inclusive and mechanistic conceptual framework for invasion should facilitate quantitative and testable evaluation of causal factors, and can potentially lead to a better understanding of the biology of invasions.

中文翻译：

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来自生物入侵概念框架综合的新兴见解。

对生物入侵的一般理解将提供对基本生态和进化问题的见识，并有助于更有效地预测，预防和控制入侵。我们回顾了最近提出入侵生物学概念框架的论文。这些论文提供了重要的进展，并预示着该领域的成熟，但是仍然缺乏广泛的综合。入侵的概念框架不需要调用独特的概念，而应反映生态学和进化生物学的统一原理。概念框架应包含多重因果关系，包括因果因素之间的相互作用，并说明各个阶段之间的滞后。我们强调人口统计学在入侵中的中心地位，并在解释我们认识到入侵的三个最重要特征之间进行区分：本地人口的快速增长，单一文化或社区主导地位以及范围扩大。为了根据这些标准发展入侵的概念性综合，我们概述了一个框架，该框架明确考虑了所涉及的基本生态和进化过程。建立更具包容性和机制性的入侵概念框架应有助于对因果因素进行定量和可测试的评估，并可能导致对入侵生物学的更好理解。为了根据这些标准发展入侵的概念性综合，我们概述了一个框架，该框架明确考虑了所涉及的基本生态和进化过程。建立更具包容性和机制性的入侵概念框架应有助于对因果因素进行定量和可测试的评估，并可能导致对入侵生物学的更好理解。为了根据这些标准发展入侵的概念性综合，我们概述了一个框架，该框架明确考虑了所涉及的基本生态和进化过程。建立更具包容性和机制性的入侵概念框架应有助于对因果因素进行定量和可测试的评估，并可能导致对入侵生物学的更好理解。