Non-native invasive mammal species: introduction to a themed issue

Times are changing, and often we don't realise it. Automation has recently entered the industrial processes, and already a new era of robots is about to begin. The effects cannot yet be assessed, but there will be winners and losers. The environment around us is changing too, and we, as humans, are responsible for these changes. Our impact on the earth is so deep that it has been formalised in the Anthropocene, a new geological epoch, in which humans are the primary drivers of planetary change. The term has not yet been officially approved by international bodies as a subdivision of geological time, but the debate is open and lively. Atmospheric carbon dioxide; methane, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in soil and lakes; radioactive nuclides; and micro-plastics are all possible markers of this epoch. Welcome to the Anthropocene!