Helen Sofaer, PhD
Helen Sofaer is a Research Ecologist at the Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center in Hawai‘i.
Science and Products
INHABIT: A web tool for invasive plant management across the contiguous United States
INHABIT is a desktop-optimized web application and decision support tool with mapped and tabular summaries of habitat suitability models for over two hundred fifty terrestrial invasive plant species of management concern across the contiguous United States. It is the product of a scientist-practitioner partnership and is designed to facilitate enhanced invasive species management actions...
Assessing the Proliferation, Connectivity, and Consequences of Invasive Fine Fuels on the Sagebrush Biome
Invasive annual grasses can replace native vegetation and alter fire behavior, impacting a range of habitats and species. A team of researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State University, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are working to identify factors that influence changes in the distribution and abundance of invasive annual grasses (IAGs)...
Developing Methods to Manage an Invasive Ant at Midway Atoll
Project Overview A new Trichomyrmex ant was first observed at Midway Atoll in 2019 and has caused management concerns due to its impacts on wildlife, endangered plants, and infrastructure since its arrival. Researchers supported by this Pacific Islands CASC project will map the range of the ant and test the effectiveness of using pesticidal baits to eradicate this destructive and...
Climate matching with the climatchR R package
Climate matching is a method for understanding species distributions and ranges and may be used as part of horizon scanning. Horizon scanning is the process of examining potential risk of invasion of new invasive species. Preventing new invasive species invasion requires less time and resources than attempting to control and remove established invasive species. Horizon scanning allows resource...
Proof of concept airborne eDNA testing to detect invasive species in shipping containers
Shipping containers that are transported by water vessels traveling between islands and the mainland or other islands can act as a vector for invasive species that are accidentally transported with the cargo. If the vessel carries a lot of cargo, or cargo has areas for different species to hide, inspections can be difficult, time consuming, and expensive, or in the case of non-agricultural...
Modeling First Records to Guide Invasive Species Biosurveillance in Hawai‘i
Early detection of invasive species can enable their successful eradication. With climate change and dynamic patterns of global trade, it is difficult to predict which new invasive species will next get introduced and where introduction and establishment will occur. We are analyzing where non-native species have first established in Hawai‘i to develop mapped predictions of the relative risk of new...
Science and Products
INHABIT: A web tool for invasive plant management across the contiguous United States
INHABIT is a desktop-optimized web application and decision support tool with mapped and tabular summaries of habitat suitability models for over two hundred fifty terrestrial invasive plant species of management concern across the contiguous United States. It is the product of a scientist-practitioner partnership and is designed to facilitate enhanced invasive species management actions...
Assessing the Proliferation, Connectivity, and Consequences of Invasive Fine Fuels on the Sagebrush Biome
Invasive annual grasses can replace native vegetation and alter fire behavior, impacting a range of habitats and species. A team of researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State University, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are working to identify factors that influence changes in the distribution and abundance of invasive annual grasses (IAGs)...
Developing Methods to Manage an Invasive Ant at Midway Atoll
Project Overview A new Trichomyrmex ant was first observed at Midway Atoll in 2019 and has caused management concerns due to its impacts on wildlife, endangered plants, and infrastructure since its arrival. Researchers supported by this Pacific Islands CASC project will map the range of the ant and test the effectiveness of using pesticidal baits to eradicate this destructive and...
Climate matching with the climatchR R package
Climate matching is a method for understanding species distributions and ranges and may be used as part of horizon scanning. Horizon scanning is the process of examining potential risk of invasion of new invasive species. Preventing new invasive species invasion requires less time and resources than attempting to control and remove established invasive species. Horizon scanning allows resource...
Proof of concept airborne eDNA testing to detect invasive species in shipping containers
Shipping containers that are transported by water vessels traveling between islands and the mainland or other islands can act as a vector for invasive species that are accidentally transported with the cargo. If the vessel carries a lot of cargo, or cargo has areas for different species to hide, inspections can be difficult, time consuming, and expensive, or in the case of non-agricultural...
Modeling First Records to Guide Invasive Species Biosurveillance in Hawai‘i
Early detection of invasive species can enable their successful eradication. With climate change and dynamic patterns of global trade, it is difficult to predict which new invasive species will next get introduced and where introduction and establishment will occur. We are analyzing where non-native species have first established in Hawai‘i to develop mapped predictions of the relative risk of new...