§16§Elton sought to articulate more explicitly his vision of an entire field of invasion science. The 1958 book, aimed at an educated lay audience, was almost wholly descriptive, dominated by striking examples of the nature and scope of particular invasions beginning with the seven examples detailed in Chapter 1. From the materials in the proof copy and other sources, we can imagine a new edition would also have targeted biologists and been somewhat more technical and prescriptive. In autobiographical notes he penned near the end of his life, Elton wrote regarding EIAP , "This whole subject has deep significance for the study of plant and animal communities and their balance (or unbalance)," 19 and indeed many of the reprints and notes refer to interactions among species and community-wide effects.§ §04§The Invaders§Wallace's Realms: the Archipelago of Continents§The Invasion of Continents§The Fate of Remote Islands§Changes in the Sea§The Balance between Populations§New Food-chains for Old§The Reasons for Conservation§The Conservation of Variety §13§§"Simberloff and Ricciardi have captured Elton's thinking on biological invasions over the subsequent 25 years. This proves not only to be an informative read but also a wonderful insight into the mind of one of the 20th century's leading ecologists. ... We are lucky to have this new edition that loses none of the magic of the original but hopefully will encourage a new generation of ecologist to read this classic work." (Philip Hulme, The Niche, 2020)§ §02§§Charles S. Elton (1900 - 1991) is widely considered the founder of animal ecology. He established and led Oxford University's Bureau of Animal Population, responsible for training zoologists from around the world. His scientific legacy, of which Ecology of Invasions is a major part, has influenced generations of biologists.§§Daniel Simberloff is the Nancy Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Tennessee, member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Biological Invasions.§§Anthony Ricciardi is Professor of Biology in the Redpath Museum and McGill School of Environment, and a Trottier Fellow in Science and Public Policy, at McGill University. He has served on the editorial boards of the journals Biological Invasions, Diversity and Distributions, and NeoBiota. §
