Impact network analysis and the ina r package: Decision support for regional management interventions

Abstract

The success of intervention projects for species management depends on both the effectiveness of management technologies and the geographical landscape of management adoption. Impact network analysis (INA) is a new framework for evaluating the likely level of success of regional species management before, during and after projects, for project implementers, policymakers and funders. INA evaluates the effects of management performance in a multilayer network analysis. The socioeconomic network represents manager communication about technologies and influence about technology adoption decisions in an agent-based model. The linked biophysical network represents species dispersal, resulting in regional success or failure of species management. The specific objectives of this paper are to (a) introduce the INA framework and ina r package; (b) illustrate the identification of key nodes for smart surveillance strategies; (c) illustrate the application of the INA framework for evaluating the likely degree of success of a project in intervention ecology, before, during and after an intervention; and (d) illustrate the use of INA for evaluating adaptation strategies under global change scenarios with pulse and press stressors, introducing ‘adaptation functions’ to evaluate the management response required for sustainability and resilience. Examples of use of the ina package show key outcomes of analyses: identifying the limiting factors for effective regional management, pointing out when systems may be non-responsive to the system components that are readily changed through management decisions, and identifying the additional adaptations that may be necessary for intervention success. The broader goals for the development of impact network analysis and the ina package are to provide a common framework that integrates across intervention ecology, to enhance opportunities for lessons learned across systems and scientific disciplines, to support the development of a community of practice, and to create a general platform to operationalize analysis of sustainability, resilience and economic viability in intervention ecology applications.