Invasive, non-native 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 the greatest environmental challenge of the 21st century in terms of economic, environmental, and human health costs, with an estimated impact in the United States of over $120 billion per year. Managers of 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 (FORT) provides research and technical assistance relating to invasive species management concerns, including understanding how these species are introduced, identifying areas vulnerable to invasion, forecasting invasions, and developing control methods. To disseminate this information, FORT scientists are helping to develop websites to share invasive species information in partnership with Colorado State University (www.niiss.org, www.gisin.org). From these and other data, FORT scientists are constructing models to understand and predict invasive species distribution for more effective management.
This Branch also conducts research to develop methods for control and prevention of invasive reptiles and amphibians to guide management efforts, including control tool validation, early detection, risk assessment, ecology, and ecological impacts of these species. Invasive reptiles and amphibians can cause major ecological and economic damage, and they present some human-welfare risk. FORT scientists are testing control tool development and validation methods, conducting ecology and ecological impact research, and coordinating early detection efforts of invasive reptiles, including the Brown Treesnake on Guam, giant constrictor snakes in Florida, and watersnakes in California. Control of these species is often prohibitively expensive after they have become established in that the cost of an eradication program depends upon the least capturable individual. Training partners for rapid response efforts teaches screening and risk assessment skills.
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.fort.usgs.gov/ISS/About.asp
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