{"id":2126,"date":"2012-09-13T11:00:09","date_gmt":"2012-09-13T18:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/breakingwaves\/?p=2126"},"modified":"2012-09-13T11:00:53","modified_gmt":"2012-09-13T18:00:53","slug":"sea-grant-researchers-create-model-for-analyzing-invasive-species-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/breakingwaves\/2012\/09\/13\/sea-grant-researchers-create-model-for-analyzing-invasive-species-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Sea Grant researchers create model for analyzing invasive species threats"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Boat<\/a>by Jeffrey Basinger, 2012 Sea Grant Communications Fellow<\/em><\/p>\n

CORVALLIS, Ore. \u2013 A team at Oregon State University has developed a statistical model that aims to predict which non-native species might become invaders \u2013 and arm resource managers to prevent their spread.<\/p>\n

Led by economist Munisamy Gopinath and funded by Oregon Sea Grant, the project includes two essential elements for identifying invasive species: how they travel to non-native locations, and whether they could survive and thrive in the new environment. The model also calculates the economic impacts involved in managing the invasive species.<\/p>\n

The model is a large, but simple equation. Species that invade waterways often \u201chitchhike\u201d via recreational travel. Information on where, how, and why people travel to water bodies, along with environmental factors such as temperature, precipitation and elevation, are entered into the equation. The result is a \u201crisk of introduction\u201d that allows resource managers and policy makers to identify species that pose a threat of invasion.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot all species are invasive,\u201d said Gopinath, a professor in the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences and director of OSU’s graduate program in applied economics. Only transplanted species with specific characteristics that match with specific habitats will thrive, cause harm to the environment, economy and human health \u2013 and earn the \u201cinvasive\u201d moniker.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey may not sound like a big deal,\u201d Gopinath said, \u201cbut all you have to look at is the quagga and zebra mussels\u2019 invasion,\u201d which caused serious ecological and economic damage to the Great Lakes region and recently began turning up in Western states, much to the alarm of resource managers. \u201cTheir invasion in the late 1980s was without fanfare. When these mussels quickly colonized, native mussels lost out, and in addition, water infrastructure became contaminated causing billions of dollars in damages.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the information the model provides, policy makers and resource managers could focus resources, along with education and outreach, to specific species and locations before invasive species are introduced, or take hold on a system.<\/p>\n

Learn more:<\/h3>\n