Anthony Ricciardi

@ecoinvasions.bsky.social

4.1K followers 770 following 940 posts

Ecologist (invasive species, freshwater biodiversity, bioinvasions, aquatic ecosystems) | Professor of Biology, McGill University | Director of the Bieler School of Environment | My lab account: @ricciardilab.bsky.social

Videos

Environmental science 69%

Geography 17%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 3h

Scientists want their articles cited. We hope our work will be used to clarify concepts, shape ideas, fuel debates, or inspire new research.

But I think most of us would rather not be cited than to have our work egregiously misinterpreted. For example, see the thread below
bsky.app/profile/ecoi...

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · Nov 21

Have you ever published a scientific article that's been incorrectly used to promote flawed arguments or ideology? Example: Ricciardi & Cohen 2007 found that nonnative spp with exceptionally high colonization success &/or rates of spread did not typically cause strong impacts on native populations.🧵

Reposted by Anthony Ricciardi

coastalreview.org @coastalreview.bsky.social · 17h

Guest commentary: Invasive species pose a serious challenge for ecosystems that have not evolved alongside them, and such is the case with NC's crystal skipper and the nonnative horses allowed to roam the barrier islands that are the butterfly's only habitat.
coastalreview.org/2025/12/opin...

Opinion: For whose benefit are barrier island horses? | Coastal Review

Guest commentary: Invasive species pose a serious challenge for ecosystems that have not evolved alongside them, and such is the case with North Carolina's crystal skipper and the nonnative horses all...

coastalreview.org

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 1d

2] The report is similar to the IPCC report on climate change, in terms of reporting the scientific consensus that a form of human-driven global change (in this case, #bioinvasion) is a major & growing threat to biodiversity, ecosystems, and human well being. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Curbing the major and growing threats from invasive alien species is urgent and achievable

Nature Ecology & Evolution - This Perspective highlights the global consensus on the urgency and growing threat of invasive alien species, and management needs, as found by the 2023 report on...

www.nature.com

Reposted by Ricardo Rocha

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 1d

1] The global threat posed by invasive non-native species is outlined in the 2023 IPBES assessment report, the most comprehensive analysis of its kind. Its findings are based on the work of 80 international experts reviewing 13,000 scientific papers. Their conclusions are unequivocal. ipbes.net/ias

Reposted by Julie L. Lockwood, Ricardo Rocha

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 1d

Polynesian rats, introduced with the arrival of colonists circa 1200, rapidly grew into a massive population and consumed most of the island's tree seeds, thereby preventing forest regeneration after humans cleared land for cultivation. #bioinvasion phys.org/news/2025-11...

Studies show how the giant statues on Rapa Nui were made and moved—and what caused the island's deforestation

Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is often portrayed in popular culture as an enigma. The rationale is clear: The tiny, remote island in the Pacific features nearly 1,000 enormous statues—the moa...

phys.org

Reposted by Julie L. Lockwood

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 2d

A study of introductions of large herbivorous mammals outside their native range suggests they do more harm than good to local biodiversity. Only 1 in 5 impacts is positive. Positive effects on certain native species often come at a cost to other natives. #bioinvasions www.unifr.ch/news/en/3344...

Saving a species but at the expense of others?

The way to hell is paved with good intentions. In the hope of saving certain endangered species and ecosystems, some conservation projects propose the introduction of large plant-feeding mammals int...

www.unifr.ch

Reposted by Julie L. Lockwood, Anthony Ricciardi

Roostersworldja @roostersworldja.bsky.social · 2d

The mongoose was introduced to Jamaica in 1872 to control rats in sugar cane fields but it quickly became one of the worst invasive species on the island. It preys on our native lizards, snakes, frogs, birds, and their eggs, pushing some species to extinction and others to the brink.
Q

Reposted by Anthony Ricciardi

Dr Manu Saunders @manusaunders.bsky.social · 2d

Kudos to the scientists who contributed the evidence to show that feral horses cause irreparable damage to ecosystems. This bill protected an invasive species in one of Australia's most important alpine national parks; repealing it is a major win for the environment www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...

Controversial 'Brumby Bill' recognising horses' heritage value dumped

A widely criticised bill recognising the heritage value of wild horses in Kosciuszko National Park will be scrapped in a move celebrated by the Invasive Species Council.

www.abc.net.au

Reposted by Matthew J. Collins, Anthony Ricciardi, Vincent Raoult

Professor Euan Ritchie @euanritchie.bsky.social · 3d

Honestly, when will unis and other research orgs collectively say enough is enough, and invoice them for all our unpaid labour that drives publishers MASSIVE profits?

The Money in Scientific Publishing danielroelfs.com/posts/the-mo... @danielroelfs.com

#KnowledgeSlavery

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 5d

Which should come as no surprise to most zoologists. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Integrative phylogenomics positions sponges at the root of the animal tree

Determining whether sponges or ctenophores root the animal tree has important implications for understanding early animal evolution. Here, we examined support for these competing hypotheses by constru...

www.science.org

Reposted by Anthony Ricciardi

Eoghan Daltun 🌍 @irishrainforest.bsky.social · 5d

Many people still imagine beekeeping and honey making are somehow 'good for nature'.

But it's the *total* opposite.
share.google/1csfRNfR3lnL...

“A beehive is as natural as a pasture of grazing sheep.” Why beekeeping is causing a huge problem for wild bees – according to scientists | Discover Wildlife

A dramatic rise in the number of managed beehives is negatively impacting wild pollinating insects

share.google

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 5d

The passion that drives researchers. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...

Researcher cries after finding rare flower in Indonesia

A team of researchers describe the "magical" experience of finding a rare species of flower in bloom deep in the Sumatran rainforest after a 23-hour trek.

www.abc.net.au

Reposted by Anthony Ricciardi, Howard I. Browman

ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea @icesmarine.bsky.social · 6d

🗺️What role does marine debris play in the spead of non-indigenous species on Oceanic Islands in the Northeast Atlantic?
Experts in our Working Group on Marine Bioinvasions (WGBIOINV) tell us more 🗺️ www.ices.dk/news-and-eve...

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 8d

wildlife.org/watch-once-e...

Watch: Once extinct, reintroduced snails glow with hope - The Wildlife Society

Conservationists conduct the largest release ever of recovering extinct-in-the-wild snails

wildlife.org

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 9d

Both countries have harmonized regs for ships entering the seaway, mandating saltwater flushing of ballast tanks. Lakers (domestic ships) are exempt. But they move organisms between ports in the Great Lakes. Canada requires them to install systems to treat ballast water. www.wpr.org/news/conflic...

Tensions mount over conflicting ballast water regulations on the Great Lakes

American shippers are at odds with the Canadian government over its regulations that require all Great Lakes vessels or “lakers” to install systems to treat their ballast water by 2030.

www.wpr.org

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 9d

In the 1960s NATO scientists treated biodiversity as a strategic asset. Inspired by Charles Elton, they viewed complex ecosystems as being less vulnerable to disruption by warfare: www.nytimes.com/2013/05/30/o.... Now economists are recognizing risks of biodiversity loss www.iflr.com/article/2a63...

Biodiversity concerns set to be the next frontier after climate change

With the rise of natural capital initiatives such as the TNFD, systemic risk issues related to ecosystem collapse will soon receive the same amount of attention as climate change

www.iflr.com

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 11d

2/2] The study supports the view (Ricciardi et al. 2011) that invasions should be managed as natural disasters, with similar investments in infrastructure & emergency response plans to protect against extreme events (like a major earthquake or wildfire) whose occurrence is unlikely but unacceptable.

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 11d

Another reminder: Biological invasions are at least as costly as earthquakes, floods & wildfires. Their prevention deserves similar precautionary investments as those applied to extreme natural hazards. #bioinvasions
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Biological invasions are as costly as natural hazards

Natural hazards — such as storms, floods, and wildfires — can be disastrous phenomena and so can biological invasions, for which impacts are often irr…

www.sciencedirect.com

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 11d

A reminder, from the 2023 IPBES assessment of invasive alien species. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Invasive species cost humans $423bn each year and threaten world’s diversity

At least 3,500 harmful invasive species recorded in every region on Earth spread by human activity, says UN report

www.theguardian.com

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 11d

Quote: "There are a more living cells on Earth — a million trillion trillion (or 10^30 in math notation, a 1 followed by 30 zeros) — than there are stars in the universe or grains of sand on our planet."
www.nytimes.com/2023/12/01/s...

Exactly How Much Life Is on Earth? (Published 2023)

www.nytimes.com

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 11d

theweek.com/environment/...

The UK’s surprising ‘wallaby boom’

The Australian marsupial has ‘colonised’ the Isle of Man and is now making regular appearances on the UK mainland

theweek.com

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 12d

Agreed.
bsky.app/profile/ecoi...

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · Dec 8

Controversial view: If one defines 'nonnative' in evolutionary terms (as I do), then humans are properly viewed as nonnative outside of Africa. If you define 'invasive' as being superabundant, spreading rapidly & causing ecological disruption, then the human species fits that definition too. 🧵 1/n

Reposted by Anthony Ricciardi

Emerald Ash Borer Network @emeraldashborer.bsky.social · 12d

Researchers in New Hampshire are studying how ash loss from #EmeraldAshBorer may mirror the disappearance of American chestnut, tracking impacts on forest biodiversity, soil and ecosystem health.

Read more: newhampshirebulletin.com/2025/10/13/w...

#InvasiveSpecies #Entomology 🧪🌍🍁

What can the emerald ash borer reveal about the long-ago loss of American chestnut? • New Hampshire Bulletin

For more than 70 years, the American chestnut tree has, mostly, been absent from the landscape. But historical accounts of its grandeur and the tons of nutritious seeds it produced every fall have mad...

newhampshirebulletin.com

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 12d

bsky.app/profile/ecoi...

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · Nov 9

Two flawed rhetorical arguments are repeatedly used to downplay the risks of introduced non-native species.
One argument is:
“The vast majority of non-native species are not a threat to native biodiversity or ecosystems (so concern about them is overblown)”.
This overlooks a few crucial points...🧵

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 13d

www.futurity.org/invasive-spe...

New trick could advance war on invasive crazy ants

Researchers have devised a way to introduce a pathogen to crazy ant colonies, so the ant populations collapse and native species can recover.

www.futurity.org

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 13d

Quote: "Invasive plants generally had negative effects on native plant diversity & greenhouse gas emissions. Native plant diversity was not a strong predictor of invasive plants’ effects. [Diversity decreased] the longer the invasive species was present" #bioinvasions www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Invasion impacts in terrestrial ecosystems: Global patterns and predictors

Biological invasions can alter ecosystems, yet their impacts vary across ecological contexts. Using a global meta-analysis of 775 studies (2223 effect sizes) in terrestrial systems, we show that the m...

www.science.org

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 13d

bsky.app/profile/ecoi...

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · Oct 11

1/🧵 Over the past decade, misinformation in the popular media & the opinion pages of some journals has promoted the claim that concern over species invasions is overblown, because "most invasions do not cause extinctions".

Here is a brief reminder of what scientific evidence shows...
#bioinvasions

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 13d

Quote: "75% of Kilimanjaro’s indigenous plants had been wiped out over the last century. The main cause: intensive land use by farmers & builders; the loss of the plants’ natural habitats; and increasing numbers of non-indigenous, partly invasive plants."

DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 13d

Source: The Conversation
search.app/nW6dY

75% of Kilimanjaro’s natural plants have been wiped out – and climate change isn’t the biggest threat

75% of Mount Kilimanjaro’s indigenous plants have been wiped out over the last century.

search.app

Reposted by Anthony Ricciardi

DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 13d

Source: The Conversation
search.app/nW6dY

75% of Kilimanjaro’s natural plants have been wiped out – and climate change isn’t the biggest threat

75% of Mount Kilimanjaro’s indigenous plants have been wiped out over the last century.

search.app

Reposted by Anthony Ricciardi, Stephen D. Murphy

Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 13d

The wonderful people at the NZ Science Learning Hub have turned my talk on MythBusting de-extinction to sort fact from fiction into a freely available educational resource. You can check it out here www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/my...

Mythbusting de-extinction to sort fact from fiction

De-extinction hit the headlines recently with the ‘resurrection’ of the dire wolf and the push to bring back the moa. However, can scientists really bring back extinct animals? And more importantly, s...

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