Ecological release, originally conceived as niche expansion following a reduction in interspecific competition, may prompt invasion success, morphological evolution, speciation, and other ecological and evolutionary outcomes. However, the concept has not been recently reviewed. Here, we trace the study of ‘ecological release’ from its inception through the present day and find that current definitions are broad and highly varied. Viewing this development as a potential impediment to clear communication and hypothesis testing, we suggest a consensus definition for ecological release: niche expansions and shifts when a constraining interspecific interaction is reduced or removed. In rationalizing this definition, we highlight the various ways ecological release can unfold and address its potential evolutionary consequences.

生态释放原本被认为是种间竞争减少后的生态位扩展，但可能促使入侵成功，形态演变，物种形成以及其他生态和进化结果。但是，该概念最近尚未得到审查。在这里，我们追溯了从“生态释放”开始到今天的研究，发现当前的定义是广泛且高度不同的。将这种发展视为阻碍清晰的交流和假设检验的潜在障碍，我们提出了生态释放的共识定义：当约束性种间相互作用减少或消除时，生态位的扩展和转移。在合理化这个定义的过程中，我们强调了生态释放可以展开并解决其潜在进化后果的各种方式。