Transcript Slide 1
Invasive species: Some observations on needs and opportunities for DNA barcoding Scott Miller, CBOL and Smithsonian Invasive species Agents of ecosystem change, especially when threatening biological diversity; usually but not always an alien (non indigenous) species Efforts to manage invasive species will be greatly enhanced by bringing together knowledge, tools, and approaches from a range of relevant disciplines. Global Invasive Species Programme www.gisp.org Invasives in news headlines in North America • • • • • • • • Asian longhorned beetle (NE USA) Emerald ash borer (Michigan) Snakehead fish (Maryland) Mitten crab (New York) Mosquitoes plus West Nile virus and Malaria Fruit flies (California, Florida, Hawaii, Texas) Avian flu Invasives can be any species from anywhere Why care ? (annual figures from Costanza et al. 1997, Pimentel et al. 2000) • Pollinators: 1/3 of crop production insect pollinated Value ca $117 billion (world) • Soil arthropods: $ trillion value to agriculture (world) •Natural biological control: $400 billion value (world) • >$100 billion loss to invasive species (USA) Identification capabilities and systematics research are the basis for the prevention and control of invasive species, such as the cassava mealybug in Africa Accurate identifications vital Need to know what to keep out. Need to know what is present in other countries in order to determine which invasive species we want to keep out. Need to communicate about invasives, their biology, and management. Regulatory issues impeding understanding? • Recognizing new invasives requires interchange of specimens and data • Need to protect rights of owners and countries • Now insects often caught between agriculture and wildlife regulations • Need wildlife permit to get identification on insect eating your crops? A cross-sector challenge The same species, an ant or weed for example, can be a pest of agriculture, livestock and conservation, so we must recognize a continuum of habitats, rather than separating agriculture from conservation. Good or bad depends on your point of view Jackson’s Chameleon: an invasive species in Hawaii protected by CITES in East Africa Can ants collapse the economy of an island? • Invasive ants disturb nesting birds • sole source of tourist economy • tiny island in Seychelles