PARENT SESSION
Oral Session #63: Invasive Species: Terrestrial.
Presiding: D. Larson
Wednesday, August 7. 1:00 PM to 4:45 PM. Graham Meeting Room, TCC.

Dataset integration and information sharing for improved prediction and detection of harmful invasive species.

Simonson, Sara^*,1, Barnett, David¹, Stohlgren, Thomas², Randell, Amy¹, ¹ Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO² Midcontinent Ecological Science Center U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins, CO

ABSTRACT- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asked the question, "What non-native plants, animals and diseases can be found (or might soon invade) the 530+ National Wildlife Refuges in the country?" In response we conducted an electronic survey of Refuge System managers and gathered supplemental information from diverse sources to detect and predict future invasive species problems. The research team includes a growing number of partners that have mobilized to consolidate information on the non-native plants, animals, and diseases affecting native plants and animals; map current distributions and model the potential spread of the most invasive species; and develop web-based tools to make the data and predictive models more accessible to government agencies and the public. Along with compiling information on species occurrence, abundance and spread, we will link results to control and restoration efforts in order to evaluate effectiveness. We provide local, regional and national scale examples focused on fish and vascular plants to demonstrate the effectiveness of this data sharing partnership. We then discuss the establishment of the Center for Invasive Species Science and its accompanying National Biological Information Infrastructure "Invasive Species" node that will develop research and modeling applications, build cooperative approaches for early detection, and predict and reduce the effects of harmful invasive species throughout the United States. These coordinated actions will improve our nation's ability to better prevent and contain the spread of invasive species.

KEY WORDS: invasive species early detection, maps of non-native species distributions, predictive models, information management