Article

California's Asian clam (Potamorcorbula amurensis) and the rhetoric of alien invasions

Invasion Ecology has contributed a questionable rhetoric to Biogeography which employs language and nomenclature seemingly borrowed from the volatile discourse surrounding the invasion of alien peoples across national borders. A case study from the San Francisco Bay Delta is presented (the invasion of Potamocorbula amurensis) as an introduction to the very real problem of exotic, alien species invasions. The contributing modern invasion mechanisms are discussed in the light of the social, cultural, and economic forces which began to unlock biogeographical closures around 1500 AD. Finally, a tour of the environmental perceptions surrounding alien species invasions reveals socialized rhetoric employed by both scientists and lay environmentalists.

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