Review of the impacts of invasive alien vertebrates on biodiversity

Alien species invasion is one of the major causes of global biodiversity loss. As the top predators of the food web, invasive alien vertebrates have dominant impacts on the native species population, community structure, and ecosystem functions. Nevertheless, within China, there is a lack of a systematic review of the impact of invasive alien vertebrates on biodiversity. Based on an intensive and systematic literature review, we summarize the direct (e.g., predation, competition, reproductive interference, and gene pollution) and indirect (e.g., disease transmission and habitat modifications) impacts of invasive alien vertebrates on the native biota across population, community, ecosystem, and biogeography levels. We particularly focus on the impacts of invasive alien species on island ecosystems, protected areas, and regions along the “Belt and Road Initiative,” which are located in biodiversity-conservation hotspots and are extremely sensitive to biological invasions. Accounting for the requirement of biosecurity system construction in China and the international frontier of discipline development, we finally summarize the recent research progress, the directions of future studies, and the potential conservation and management strategies for invasive alien vertebrates in China.