Invasive Species Science Branch: research and management tools for controlling invasive species

Fact Sheet 2014-3076
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Abstract

Invasive, nonnative species of plants, animals, and disease organisms adversely affect the ecosystems they enter. Like “biological wildfires,” they can quickly spread and affect nearly all terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Invasive species have become one of the greatest environmental challenges of the 21st century in economic, environmental, and human health costs, with an estimated effect in the United States of more than $120 billion per year. Managers of the Department of the Interior and other public and private lands often rank invasive species as their top resource management problem. The Invasive Species Science Branch of the Fort Collins Science Center provides research and technical assistance relating to management concerns for invasive species, including understanding how these species are introduced, identifying areas vulnerable to invasion, forecasting invasions, and developing control methods. To disseminate this information, branch scientists are developing platforms to share invasive species information with DOI cooperators, other agency partners, and the public. From these and other data, branch scientists are constructing models to understand and predict invasive species distributions for more effective management. The branch also has extensive herpetological and population biology expertise that is applied to harmful reptile invaders such as the Brown Treesnake on Guam and Burmese Python in Florida.

Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Invasive Species Science Branch: research and management tools for controlling invasive species
Series title Fact Sheet
Series number 2014-3076
DOI 10.3133/fs20143076
Year Published 2015
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Fort Collins Science Center
Description 4 p.
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
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