Misinformation, internet honey trading and beekeepers drive a plant invasion

Abstract

Biological invasions are a major human induced global change that is threatening global biodiver-sity by homogenizing the world’s fauna and flora. Species spread because humans have movedspecies across geographical boundaries and have changed ecological factors that structure ecosys-tems, such as nitrogen deposition, disturbance, etc. Many biological invasions are caused acciden-tally, as a byproduct of human travel and commerce driven product shipping. However, humansalso have spread many species intentionally because of perceived benefits. Of interest is the role ofthe recent exponential growth in information exchange via internet social media in driving biologi-cal invasions. To date, this ..