Photo: Kochia, southwest Montana. © 2020 Delena Norris-Tull
Research Hypotheses on the Success of Invasive Species
Summaries of the research and commentary, prepared by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita of Science Education, University of Montana Western, April, 2020.
What enables an introduced species to succeed in its non-native habitat?
Developing an understanding of what enables an introduced species, whether plant, animal, fungi, or symbiotic microbe, to become a successful invader has been very challenging. Many researchers have engaged in this research but with very limited funding.
In A dynamic invasive species research vision: Opportunities and priorities 2009-2029 (Dix & Britton, 2010), teams of researchers conducted extensive reviews of the research on invasive species to develop a twenty-year research agenda for the USDA Forest Service and its partners. This valuable external research review was coalesced by US Forest Service research teams into 12 visionary papers to “identify future invasive species research issues and priorities and provide the Forest Service and its partners with a framework for programming and budgeting.”
As a result of this review, the Forest Service Research and Development teams identified four overarching priorities for future research on invasive species (Britton, et al., 2010, p. 3-4):
“1. Quantify Invasive Species Biology, Ecology, Interactions, and Effects
In that same report, Sieg,et, al., 2010, p. 37, point out that, “Our poor understanding of factors that make plant communities susceptible to invasion limits our ability to provide management guidelines for preventing the introduction and spread of nonnative plant species. Ecosystem attributes, disturbances, and plant characteristics can all influence invasion rates. A better understanding of the role of stand structural attributes and altered disturbance regimes is needed, as is plant-focused research.”
Sieg, et al., 2010, p. 38, also point out that, “We need to expand our proactive research role that will promote early and rapid management of plant invasions by Federal, State, and local entities when such invasions are small and controllable. Risk assessments at this stage should be based on plant population ecology and metapopulation models, especially dispersal rates, pathways, and distances. There is a need to develop tools to identify potentially invasive species, prioritize species for management attention, identify priority areas for treatment, and more successfully eradicate high-priority invaders with minimal nontarget effects.”
In the subsequent sections, I attempt my own summary of the research on the factors that facilitate biological invasions, with a focus on research on invasive plant species. Almost universally, the researchers listed below point out the need for much more research. Unfortunately, federal funding for biologists who study this field is quite limited. And within the field of biology, botanists receive very little funding from the U.S. Federal Agencies that fund scientific research.
Refer to the section on Federal Agencies for further discussion on the limitations of Federal funding for research on invasive plant species. It is important for the reader to understand that, without funding from a wide array of U.S. Federal Agencies, scientists in the United States would not have accomplished most of the scientific breakthroughs that have enabled the United States to be at the forefront of many scientific discoveries worldwide.
References:
Research on topics related to the success of invasive species:
Research Hypotheses on the Success of Invasive Species
Summaries of the research and commentary, prepared by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita of Science Education, University of Montana Western, April, 2020.
What enables an introduced species to succeed in its non-native habitat?
Developing an understanding of what enables an introduced species, whether plant, animal, fungi, or symbiotic microbe, to become a successful invader has been very challenging. Many researchers have engaged in this research but with very limited funding.
In A dynamic invasive species research vision: Opportunities and priorities 2009-2029 (Dix & Britton, 2010), teams of researchers conducted extensive reviews of the research on invasive species to develop a twenty-year research agenda for the USDA Forest Service and its partners. This valuable external research review was coalesced by US Forest Service research teams into 12 visionary papers to “identify future invasive species research issues and priorities and provide the Forest Service and its partners with a framework for programming and budgeting.”
As a result of this review, the Forest Service Research and Development teams identified four overarching priorities for future research on invasive species (Britton, et al., 2010, p. 3-4):
“1. Quantify Invasive Species Biology, Ecology, Interactions, and Effects
- Quantify genetic, ecological, and evolutional relationships among high-priority invasive species and ecosystems where they occur.
- Quantify ecological, social, and economic effects of invasive species.
- Develop science-based protocols to prioritize invasive species to help managers assess action thresholds.
- Develop a methodology for predicting which species are likely to become invasive.
- Develop science-based protocols to prioritize prevention activities.
- Improve invasive species detection and diagnostics technology.
- Quantify invasive patterns and processes across geographical and elevational gradients.
- Develop more effective treatments and control or management methods for high-priority species.
- Predict interactions between multiple invasive species and multiple disturbances under varying climatic scenarios.”
In that same report, Sieg,et, al., 2010, p. 37, point out that, “Our poor understanding of factors that make plant communities susceptible to invasion limits our ability to provide management guidelines for preventing the introduction and spread of nonnative plant species. Ecosystem attributes, disturbances, and plant characteristics can all influence invasion rates. A better understanding of the role of stand structural attributes and altered disturbance regimes is needed, as is plant-focused research.”
Sieg, et al., 2010, p. 38, also point out that, “We need to expand our proactive research role that will promote early and rapid management of plant invasions by Federal, State, and local entities when such invasions are small and controllable. Risk assessments at this stage should be based on plant population ecology and metapopulation models, especially dispersal rates, pathways, and distances. There is a need to develop tools to identify potentially invasive species, prioritize species for management attention, identify priority areas for treatment, and more successfully eradicate high-priority invaders with minimal nontarget effects.”
In the subsequent sections, I attempt my own summary of the research on the factors that facilitate biological invasions, with a focus on research on invasive plant species. Almost universally, the researchers listed below point out the need for much more research. Unfortunately, federal funding for biologists who study this field is quite limited. And within the field of biology, botanists receive very little funding from the U.S. Federal Agencies that fund scientific research.
Refer to the section on Federal Agencies for further discussion on the limitations of Federal funding for research on invasive plant species. It is important for the reader to understand that, without funding from a wide array of U.S. Federal Agencies, scientists in the United States would not have accomplished most of the scientific breakthroughs that have enabled the United States to be at the forefront of many scientific discoveries worldwide.
References:
- Britton, et al. (May, 2010). Invasive species overarching priorities to 2029. In M.E. Dix & K. Britton (Eds.), A dynamic invasive species research vision: Opportunities and priorities 2009-2029. Washington, D.C.: USDA Forest Service.
- Dix, M.E., & Britton, K. (Eds.). (May, 2010). A dynamic invasive species research vision: Opportunities and priorities 2009-2029. Washington, D.C.: USDA Forest Service.
- Sieg, C.H., et al. (May, 2010). The role of the Forest Service in nonnative invasive plant research. In M.E. Dix & K. Britton (Eds.), A dynamic invasive species research vision: Opportunities and priorities 2009-2029. Washington, D.C.: USDA Forest Service.
Research on topics related to the success of invasive species: