LONDON, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Isolated islands and coastal regions of continents are most likely to become hotspots for invasive alien plants and animals, as these areas have major points of entry like ports, a research said.
The study, published on Monday in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, showed that the top three global hotspots for alien species are the Hawaiian Islands, the North Island of New Zealand and Indonesia's Lesser Sunda Islands.
The international researching team, under the leadership of Dr. Wayne Dawson from the British University of Durham, mapped the distribution of eight different types of invasive species, and analyzed 186 islands and 423 mainland regions with high concentrations of alien species.
"In general, regions that are wealthier, and where human populations are denser will have more alien species," Dawson said. Intense economic activities will greatly affect the introductions and naturalization of alien species, he added.
For this reason, scientists called for more global efforts to prevent further introductions of plants and animals into vulnerable ecosystems. "Prevention is better than cure with invasive species," Dawson said.
