What Makes an Alien Invasive?

This is the title of the forthcoming conference of the Association of Applied Biologists in the UK, to be held in Edinburgh.  The conference is to take place in early December (soon!) but it looks like it is still possible to register.  More details on the conference website here.

The conference looks very interesting - it is focused in Europe however it asks questions of global relevance.  The key question the conference asks, "what criteria make alien species become an invasive species?" can be asked at all stages of an 'invasion' - pre-border, at border and post-border.  It is foremost when thinking about risk assessment, detection and management of alien species as potential invasives.