Raising concerns on the dangers of linking biological invasions to human migration

Abstract

A recent paper by Ahmed et al. (2025. “Parallels and Discrepancies between non-native Species Introductions and Human Migration.” Biological Reviews 100 (3): 1365–1395), published in Biological Reviews, suggests a comparative analysis of biological invasions (concerning interactions between different species) and human migration (concerning interactions among members of the same species) presenting prospective similarities between the two phenomena and proposing the existence of an “untapped potential in interdisciplinary research”. In this commentary, we assemble scholars from migration and biology domains to raise concerns on the conceptual inconsistencies present in said article and discuss implications for social sciences, migration, ethnic and racial studies. South et al. (2025. “Parallels between Biological Invasions and Human Migration Are Flawed and Undermine Both Disciplines. Response to Ahmed et al.” BioScience. Advance online publication), in turn, review the limitations from a biological science perspective. In this way, we seek to provide an interdisciplinary response and reach audiences across disciplines