title: Freshwater ecosystems and aquatic insects: a paradox in biological invasions.
abstract: Biological invasions have increased significantly in response to global change and constitute one of the major causes of biodiversity loss. Insects make up a large fraction of invasive species, in general, and freshwaters are among the most invaded ecosystems on our planet. However, even though aquatic insects dominate most inland waters, have unparalleled taxonomic diversity and occupy nearly all trophic niches, there are almost no invasive insects in freshwaters. We present some hypotheses regarding why aquatic insects are not common among aquatic invasive organisms, suggesting that it may be the result of a suite of biological, ecological and anthropogenic factors. Such specific knowledge introduces a paradox in the current scientific discussion on invasive species; therefore, a more in-depth understanding could be an invaluable aid to disentangling how and why biological invasions occur.
authors.affiliation: Department of Science and Technological Innovation, University of Piemonte Orientale, 15121 Alessandria, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6931-652X
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fenoglio
authors.affiliation: Departament d'Ecologia, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), 08028 Barcelona, Spain bonada@ub.edu.
authors.forename: Núria
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2983-3335
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bonada
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Hydrology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2962-0863
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guareschi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel J
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6707-0992
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: López-Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Hydrology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0036-363X
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Millán
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: J Manuel
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1616-9815
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Tierno de Figueroa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms; D017753:Ecosystem; D005618:Fresh Water; D007313:Insecta / Q000502:physiology*; D058865:Introduced Species
keywords: freshwater biodiversity; inland waters; invasive species