Regional species assemblages have been shaped by colonization, speciation and extinction over millions of years. During the last centuries, humans have dissolved natural biogeographic barriers. The introduction of alien invasive species and subsequent loss of native (often endemic) species is causing the breakdown of regional distinctiveness of the Earth’s biota, a process called ‘biotic homogenization’. EDENE investigates the ecological mechanisms behind biotic homogenization with a particular focus on islands, which are global epicenters of both biological invasions and species extinctions.