Breakout

Title: Invasive Species and Biodiversity: Challenges and Recommendations for a Changing World

Organizers:
Theresa Goedeke, Line Office Representative, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Gordon Brown, Invasive Species Coordinator and Liaison to the National Invasive Species Council, U.S. Department of the Interior
Chris Dionigi, Assitant Director for Domestic Policy, Science and Cooperation, National Invasive Species Council
Hannibal Bolton, Chief, Division of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Moderator: Jamie Reaser, President, Ecos Systems Institute

Additional Discussants:
Peter Alpert, Research Ecologist, Univeristy of Massachusetts- Amherst
James Carlton, Professor of Marine Sciences and Director of the Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program, Williams College
Dan Simberloff, Nancy Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Studies, University of Tennessee

Session Goals:
The goal of this session is to facilitate a rigorous exchange among experts on bioinvasions and biodiversity about the influence of invasive species on native species and ecosystems, both aquatic and terrestrial. The central message of the session is that preservation and restoration of biodiversity cannot be achieved without addressing the on-going and increasingly global translocation of species among ecosystems. Biodiversity policy will not be successful in the long-term without attention paid to the human-mediated global movement of species and the need for policies and action plans related to prevention, eradication and/or control of bioinvasions. The session will culminate in a set of 6 to 10 recommendations highlighting the type of science needed to understand better the intersection of species invasions and biodiversity and how to more successfully infuse relevant bioinvasion science into biodiversity policy.

Session Summary:
There is little dissension among the interested scientific community that invasive species can be a significant threat to biodiversity. According to acclaimed ecologist Edward O. Wilson, the havoc wreaked by invasive species on native flora and fauna is second only to habitat destruction when accounting for the major threats to biodiversity worldwide. Invasive species can affect native biodiversity, including endangered, threatened and vulnerable species, and in variety of ways:

• Direct effects on native species through competition, predation, parasitism, etc.
• Indirect effects on biodiversity by prompting or exacerbating changes to landscape and habitat.
• Indirect effects on native species through genetic pollution, such as by hybridization or introgression.

When combined with other stressors, such as habitat degradation/destruction, climate change, hunting/harvest and pollution, the effects of invasive species can seal the fate of already vulnerable species, populations, such as those designated as threatened or endangered, as well as entire ecosystems. With an increasingly mobile human population, habitat changes associated with climate change, and the expansion of marine aquaculture and agricultural biotechnology, the risk of species introductions continues to grow. Therefore, it is incumbent on us to draw attention to and discuss the nexus of two these two important critical issues. We will have 2 to 4 discussants, each with expertise in bioinvasion science or biodiversity or both, who will set the tone for the session and guide the conversation. Each discussant will provide a brief (5-8 minutes) overview on how the problem of bioinvasions is relevant to biodiversity research, policy and management. The remainder of the session will be devoted to a facilitated discussion about the major issues and challenges related to bioinvasions and biodiversity, and the best policy responses and options. The session will culminate in a set of 6 to 10 recommendations about: 1) what science is needed to better understand the intersection of these two issues and 2) how to more successfully infuse relevant science into biodiversity policy.

Resources:
2008 – 2012 National Invasive Species Management Plan

ESA Report, Biological Invasions: Recommendations for U.S. Policy and Management

Executive Order 13112 of February 3, 1999 Invasive Species

Needed: A National Center for Biological Invasions

Letter to Al Gore, Invasive Species

McKibben Climate Change

IUCN Policy Matters

References:
Chorneski, Elizabeth A. and John M. Randall. 2003. "The Threat of Invasive Alien Species to Biological Diversity: Setting a Future Course" Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 90(1): 67-76.

Schmitz, Don C and Dan Simberloff. 2001. "Needed: A National Center for Biological Invasions."  Issues in Science & Technology, 57-62.