The Global Invasive Species Team

GIST Home Invasives 101 TNC projects Invasives planning & strategies Invasives & control methods Photo archive Red alerts! Global resources Invasives news Links & internet resources Site sponsors Privacy		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) WIMS 3 released (March 2008)  Revised GIST brochure: "Preventing and containing the global spread of invaders" (February 2008)  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   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 GIST invasives brochure revised! The Global Invasive Species Team has revised and reprinted its great brochure about invasive species work TNC is doing. See the pdf version below. While quantities last, TNC staff can request copies of the brochure from Barry Rice (brice(at)tnc.org). That's what they're there for! Adobe Acrobat (1MB) 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
Updated March 2008 ©The Nature Conservancy, 2005