Last week, the iEcoLab published a new paper titled “Non-native herpetofauna of Aruba island (Caribbean): patterns and insights.” The paper was authored by Gianna Busala, an undergraduate member of our lab and part of the prestigious Temple Science Scholars Program, along with Dr. Jocelyn Behm and Dr. Matt Helmus. Busala collected and compiled a database from the literature on introduction pathways, introduction years, source locations, native ranges, establishment outcomes, habitat use, and ecological impacts for 15 non-native herpetofaunal species in Aruba. These data were used to identify introduction patterns on Aruba and highlight areas of data deficiency, which can inform future research and help slow the introduction of non-native species. You can read the paper below.
Busala, GM, MR Helmus, JE Behm. in press. Non-native herpetofauna of Aruba island (Caribbean): patterns and insights. Biol Invasions.