Biological Threats and Invasive Species
Invasive, nonnative species of plants, animals, and disease organisms can quickly spread and affect nearly all terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Invasive species have become one of the greatest environmental challenges of the twenty-first century in economic, environmental, and human health costs, with an estimated effect in the United States of more than $120 billion per year. The Invasive Species Science (ISS) Branch provides research and technical assistance relating to management concerns for invasive species, including understanding how these species are introduced, identifying areas vulnerable to invasion, forecasting invasions, and developing control methods. To disseminate this information, branch scientists are developing platforms to share invasive species information with DOI cooperators, other agency partners, and the public. Experts at the Fort Collins Science Center that study biological threats and invasive species also have extensive herpetological and population biology expertise that is applied to harmful reptile invaders such as the Brown Treesnake on Guam and Burmese Python in Florida.