Trade, transport and trouble: managing invasive species pathways in an era of globalization

Summary Humans have traded and transported alien species for millennia with two notable step‐changes: the end of the Middle Ages and beginning of the Industrial Revolution. However, in recent decades the world has entered a new phase in the magnitude and diversity of biological invasions: the Era of Globalization. This Special Profile reviews the links between the main drivers of globalization and biological invasions and examines state‐of‐the‐art approaches to pathway risk assessment to illustrate new opportunities for managing invasive species. Income growth is a primary driver of globalization and a clear association exists between Gross Domestic Product and the richness of alien floras and faunas for many…