|
|
|
> Home
The Global Invasive Species Team...
|
|
...is part of The Nature Conservancy's response to abating the damage caused to native biodiversity by
the human-facilitated introduction of non-native, harmful invasive species. This web site provides many resources designed
to help all conservationists deal most effectively with invasive species.
New Web Site Resources
Recent Site Additions (less than about 6 months old)
Invasive insects advertisement (June 2008) 
Stop the Invasion booklet (free!) (June 2008)
Invasives on refuges press release (May 2008)
WIMS 3 released (March 2008)
Revised GIST brochure: "Preventing and containing the global spread of invaders" (February 2008)
Soon it will be ALIVE!
|
Expert volunteers needed for an invasives experiment!
Our fine web site contains many very useful, important documents on invasive species control. However, these
documents are static and increasingly old; some are very much out of date.
As a bold experiment, we are going to launch an invasive species wiki to keep these documents up to date. If you are an
expert on some species of plant invader, and would like to help, please contact Barry Rice (brice[at]tnc.org) so he can
rely upon you as a wiki-editor. The wiki-editors will, we hope, only monitor a page or two each,
to watch for vandalism. Ideally, the wiki-editors will only be needed during the wiki's early stages.
With luck, we will be able to use this new approach to keep our documents up to date. Very exciting, don't you think?
|
Don't move Firewood
Did you know that the transportation of firewood is one of the leading ways that pests and pathogens spread from
forest to forest? The Nature Conservancy does, and that has led to the creation of the "Don't move firewood"
web site.
Of course, just about everyone agrees that its videos are the soul of this web site. Watch in horror as the
surprisingly amiable emerald ash borer sneaks along on camping trips, view the exposé of the borer's past, and even
learn about its dating habits. Very...campy.
Visit http://www.dontmovefirewood.org
|
Publicity piece for forest pests
Part of a public awareness and action campaign to alert homeowners about the risk posed by insects that can damage trees, even
trees in urban settings, TNC created
this advertisement featuring the Asian longhorned beetle and emerald ash borer.
Enjoy the ad, and also learn more about what you can do to make a difference in the fight against invasive species that can
damage our trees:
Visit http://www.nature.org/mytrees
|
New Screening Tool!
TNC's Doria Gordon recently copublished an article on her work comparing the accuracy of the Australian plant screening tool
across all the geographies in which it has now been tested. Across all the studies, the most invasive plant species were
correctly identified 90% of the time. Non-invaders were correctly identified over 70% of the time. This tool could be
incorporated into the US plant quarantine law, which is currently being revised by USDA
Gordon et al. 2008 study
Radio interview with Doria Gordon
|
GardenSmart Oregon: a guide to non-invasive plants
As part of the
"Stop the Invasion"
public awareness and action campaign to counter the environmental and economic threat of invasives in Oregon, a coalition of
organizations developed this booklet called "GardenSmart Oregon: A Guide to Non-Invasive Plants."
This 54-page booklet identifies more than 25 invasive plants that can escape gardens and threaten natural areas. Illustrated
with dozens of photos, it offers tips to help gardeners select non-invasive replacement plants appropriate to different
regions of Oregon. Alternatives include both native and ornamental plants commonly available in the nursery trade.
Get your own copy!
|
 WIMS 3 now available!
The very popular Weeds Information Management System (WIMS 3) is a Microsoft Access-based relational database application
designed to assist natural resource managers in managing their weed-related information. This updated version is
compatible with both ArcPad 6 and 7, has several new features to aid in the collection and maintenance of weed mapping and
management data, and is available here for free! New and updated training documents are also available!
Learn about WIMS 3
|
Featured Web Site Attractions
The cactus moth invades Mexican offshore islands!
Cactoblastis cactorum, the biocontrol moth that has been used with such success in Australia and South Africa,
is established in North America and the Caribbean. But now it has been discovered on Isla Mujeres (Mexico), a mere
15 km from the mainland. The arrival of this moth in Mexico would have terrible consequences to native Opuntia,
the ecosystems it occupies, and the Mexican economic sectors that depend upon it.
Learn more:
Interview with John Randall
Our Gallery of Pests profile
NPR Story (27 October 2006)
Invasives alert
Weed Control Methods Handbook
This popular handbook provides detailed information on
the use of
manual and mechanical techniques, grazing, prescribed fire,
biocontrol, and herbicides, to help you control undesirable invasive
plants. Now it is even better than ever, since several chapters have been
updated and a NEW chapter on those-ever mysterious "herbicide
adjuvants" has been added. You can download individual chapters, or
the entire handbook in a single zipped file!
Peruse the handbook
Rod Randall's Weed Database
The Global Invasive Species Team is proud to host the enormous database of invasive species
information accumulated by Rod Randall. This database includes many
citations of plants acting as invasive species in wildlands. If you
are curious to learn if a plant is a weed someplace, Rod's database
is a great place to start your search
Learn more about this resource!
Management Library
Do you have a specific invasive you are trying to control? Here is where you will find many documents
that tell you how to deal with specific organisms.
(These are also the links to follow if you seek the species management summaries called "ESAs.")
The management library---Plants
The management library---Animals and pathogens
Remote Sensing and Invasive Species
Remote sensing is all the buzz. Fans tell you that it will solve all your problems; detractors say that
it is an expensive waste of time. What is the Truth? To help you find out for yourself, the
GIST's own Barry Rice has written an primer on remote sensing.
More of an introduction to concepts than a detailed guide, it includes a useful
glossary, review of the science involved in remote sensing, and thumbnail descriptions of the major remote sensing
satellites. If this is well-received, GIST will be expanding its remote sensing coverage with additional content such as reviews of remote sensing
projects, and a bibliography, and more.
Learn about remote sensing
Gallery of Pests
Profiles of more than thirty pests and pathogens that are threatening the native forests of North
America. From entrenched invasives to new arrivals, and even a few that have apparently been
extirpated, they are all here. Are you confused about the differences between the balsam woolly adegid
and hemlock woolly adelgid? Or the European oak bark beetle vs. the European spruce beetle? You need
look no further than the Gallery! And if we missed some favorite pest, contact us and we will take
your suggestions (But beware! We may try to convince you to help us write a blurb about it).
Read the Gallery
|
GIST Home