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A systematic approach for prioritizing multiple management actions for invasive species

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Abstract

The successful management and eradication of invasive species is often constrained by insufficient or inconsistent funding. Consequently, managers are usually forced to select a subset of infested areas to manage. Further, managers may be unaware of the most effective methods for identifying priority areas and so are unable to maximize the effectiveness of their limited resources. To address these issues, we present a spatially explicit decision method that can be used to identify actions to manage invasive species while minimizing costs and the likelihood of reinvasion. We apply the method to a real-world management scenario, aimed at managing an invasive aquatic macrophyte, olive hymenachne (Hymenachne amplexicaulis), which is one of the most threatening invasives in tropical Australia, affecting water quality, freshwater biodiversity, and fisheries.

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Notes

  1. A feature is any biodiversity element that is targeted in a conservation plan (e.g., a species, habitat type, or natural process). The conservation features of interest for this work are stream reaches and wetlands which coincide with the units of conservation assessment (i.e., planning units).

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Weeds of National Significance Funding Scheme, administered by the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (2009). Support was also provided by James Cook University and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. This work would not have been possible without the full commitment and partnership of Damon Sydes, Strategic Coordinator at Cassowary Coast Regional Council, Tully, Queensland, Australia. We also thank Travis Sydes, Lynise Wearne and Robert Cobon for their unfailing encouragement and ongoing efforts to bridge the gap between research and on-ground management actions. We would also like to thank Professor Richard Pearson and the two anonymous reviewers whose copy-editing and insightful comments helped improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia

    S. R. Januchowski-Hartley, P. Visconti & R. L. Pressey

  2. School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia

    S. R. Januchowski-Hartley

  3. Department of Human and Animal Biology, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy

    P. Visconti

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  1. S. R. Januchowski-Hartley
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  2. P. Visconti
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  3. R. L. Pressey
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Correspondence to S. R. Januchowski-Hartley.

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Januchowski-Hartley, S.R., Visconti, P. & Pressey, R.L. A systematic approach for prioritizing multiple management actions for invasive species. Biol Invasions 13, 1241–1253 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-011-9960-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-011-9960-7

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