Ecological informatics for the prediction and management of invasive species

Abstract

Ecologists face rapidly accumulating environmental data form spatial studies and from large-scale field experiments such that many now specialize in information technology. Those scientists carry out interdisciplinary research in what is known as ecological informatics. Ecological informatics is defined as a discipline that brings together ecology and computer science to solve problems using biologically-inspired computation, information processing, and other computer science disciplines such as data management and visualization. Scientists working in the discipline have research interests that include ecological knowledge discovery, clustering, and forecasting, and simulation of ecological dynamics by individualbased or agent-based models, as well as hybrid models and artificial life. In this chapter, ecological informatics techniques are applied to answer questions about alien invasive species, in particular, species that pose a biosecurity threat in a terrestrial ecological setting. Biosecurity is defined as the protection of a region’s environment, flora and fauna, marine life, indigenous resources, and human and animal health. Because biological organisms can cause billions of dollars of impact in any country, good science, systems, and protocols that underpin a regulatory biosecurity system are required in order to facilitate international trade. The tools and techniques discussed in this chapter are designed to be used in a risk analysis procedure so that agencies in charge of biosecurity can prioritize scarce resources and effort and be better prepared to prevent unexpected incursions of dangerous invasive species. The methods are used to predict, (1) which species out of the many thousands might establish in a new area, (2) where those species might establish, and, (3) where they might spread over a realistic landscape so that their impact can be determined.