Aim: Spatio-temporal processes play a key role in ecology, from genes to large-scale macroecological and biogeographical processes. Existing methods studying such spatio-temporally structured data either simplify the dynamic structure or the complex interactions of ecological drivers. This paper aims to present a generic method for ecological research that allows analysing spatio-temporal patterns of biological processes at large spatial scales by including the time-varying variables that drive these dynamics. Methods: We introduce a method called relational event modelling (REM), which relies on temporal interaction dynamics, that encode sequences of relational events connecting a sender node to a recipient node at a specific point in time. We apply REM to the spread of alien species around the globe between 1880 and 2005, following accidental or deliberate introductions into geographical regions outside of their native range. In this context, a relational event represents the new occurrence of an alien species given its former distribution. Results: The application of REM to the first reported invasions of 4835 established alien species outside of their native ranges from four major taxonomic groups enables us to unravel the main drivers of the dynamics of the spread of invasive alien species. Combining the alien species first records data with other spatio-temporal information enables us to discover which factors have been responsible for the spread of species across the globe. Besides the usual drivers of species invasions, such as trade, land use and climatic conditions, we also find evidence for species-interconnectedness in alien species spread. Conclusions: REM offer the capacity to account for the temporal sequences of ecological events such as biological invasions and to investigate how relationships between these events and potential drivers change over time.

翻译：目的：时空过程在生态学中扮演关键角色，涵盖从基因到宏观生态与生物地理的大尺度过程。现有研究这类时空结构化数据的方法，要么简化了动态结构，要么简化了生态驱动因素的复杂相互作用。本文旨在为生态研究提供一种通用方法，通过纳入驱动动态的时变变量，实现在大空间尺度上分析生物过程的时空格局。方法：我们引入一种称为关系事件建模（REM）的方法，该方法基于时间交互动态，将特定时间点连接发送节点与接收节点的关系事件序列进行编码。我们将REM应用于1880年至2005年间全球外来物种的扩散过程，这些物种通过意外或有意引入而进入其原生范围之外的地理区域。在此背景下，一个关系事件代表基于物种先前分布的新发生记录。结果：将REM应用于来自四个主要分类群的4835种已建立的外来物种在原生范围之外的首次入侵报告，使我们能够揭示入侵物种扩散动态的主要驱动因素。将外来物种首次记录数据与其他时空信息相结合，使我们能够发现哪些因素导致了物种在全球范围内的扩散。除了贸易、土地利用和气候条件等常见的物种入侵驱动因素外，我们还发现了外来物种扩散中物种间相互关联性的证据。结论：REM能够解释诸如生物入侵等生态事件的时间序列，并探究这些事件与潜在驱动因素之间的关系如何随时间变化。