Words matter: how do we talk about non-native aquatic species?

How scientists communicate can influence public viewpoints on invasive species. In the scientific literature, some invasion biologists adopt neutral language, while others use more loaded language, for example by emphasizing the devastating impacts of invasive species and outlining consequences for policy and practice. An evaluation of the use of language in the invasion biology literature does not exist, preventing us from understanding which frames are used and whether there are correlations between message framing in scientific papers and local environmental impacts associated with invasive species. Thus, we conducted a systematic literature review of 278 peer-reviewed articles published from 2008–2018 to understand communication styles adopted by social and natural scientists while reporting on aquatic non-native species research.

Golebie EJ, van Riper CJ, Arlinghaus R, Gaddy M, Jang S, Kochalski S, Lu Y, Olden JD, Stedman R, Suski C (2022) Words matter: a systematic review of communication in non-native aquatic species literature. NeoBiota 74: 1-28. Article