PERSPECTIVES AND PARADIGMS Improving science-based invasive species management with physiological knowledge, concepts, and tools Robert Lennox • Kevin Choi • Philip M. Harrison • James E. Paterson • Tyler B. Peat • Taylor D. Ward • Steven J. Cooke Received: 4 February 2014 / Accepted: 16 March 2015 / Published online: 27 March 2015 Ó Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 Abstract Biological invasions are a prominent fac- tor contributing to global biodiversity loss. As a result, managing invasive species is a priority for many conservation scientists and natural resource managers. Invasive species management requires a multidisci- plinary approach and there is increasing recognition that physiology can be used to inform conservation efforts because physiological processes underlie an individual’s response to its environment. For example, physiological concepts and tools can be used to assess the impacts of invasive animals on their new ecosys- tems, to predict which animal species are likely to become invasive, to prevent the introduction of non- native animals, and to control incipient or established invasions. To evaluate whether physiology is integrat- ed within invasion science, the journal Biological Invasions was surveyed for a quantitative literature review. To determine how physiology is used to inform invasion science and which subdisciplines of physiology are particularly relevant to invasive animal management, the broader invasion literature was also reviewed to identify examples where physiology has contributed to studying and managing invasive animals. Only 6 % of articles published in Biological Invasions incorporated physiological knowledge or tools, mostly for the purposes of identifying traits associated with species invasiveness (i.e. prediction). However, the broader literature indicated that suc- cessful invasive species research and management can be supported by fundamental and applied physio- logical research for assessing, predicting, preventing, and controlling invasive animals. Development of new techniques and increased availability of equipment for remote or rapid monitoring of physiology in the field will increase opportunities for integrating physiology within invasion science. Keywords Conservation physiology Á Invasive species Á Invasion management Á Macrophysiology Introduction Invasive plants, animals, and microbes have become established in many terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems (Williamson 1998; Parker et al. 1999). These biological invasions are important agents of global biodiversity homogenization, habitat alteration, and species extirpation (Gurevitch and Padilla 2004). R. Lennox (&) Á P. M. Harrison Á T. B. Peat Á T. D. Ward Á S. J. Cooke Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada e-mail: robertlennox9@gmail.com K. Choi Á J. E. Paterson Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie-Curie, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada P. M. Harrison Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave, W., Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada 123 Biol Invasions (2015) 17:2213–2227 DOI 10.1007/s10530-015-0884-5