Species Framed as Invasive or Pests: Influence, Governance, and Storylines in Conservation Biology

Dear Colleagues,

For this Special Issue, we invite contributions that critically examine the narratives surrounding so-called invasive species and pests and how these narratives are shaped by interest groups, institutions, media, and policy frameworks. As human activities intensify pressures on ecosystems, certain species are increasingly framed as threats to biodiversity, public health, or agriculture.

Despite major financial and scientific investment, management outcomes remain limited, exposing ethical, social, and governance challenges. This Special Issue seeks interdisciplinary contributions from critical social sciences and philosophy—drawing on animal ethics, discourse analysis, feminist theory, political ecology, public affairs, and communication studies—as well as reflections from biologists and conservation scientists who are critical of the dominant paradigms or who explore alternative, non-violent approaches to species management.

Contributors are encouraged to address questions such as the following:

• How do policy, science, and media discourses narratively construct species as being “invasive” or “pests”?
• What role do interest groups and economic actors play in shaping these narratives?
• How do management approaches negotiate tensions between ecological goals and ethical considerations toward nonhuman life?
• What ethical alternatives could foster coexistence while aligning conservation with animal welfare?

Prof. Dr. Núria Almiron
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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