Aliens Among Us: Invasive Species.

What are they, what do they do and what can we do about them?

Laura Dugan at Posa Azul, Cuatrocienegas, Mexico

The invasive Jewel Ciclid.

Invasive alien species (IAS) are recognized as one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity.  In today’s modern world, species are moved all over the globe via intentional and unintentional means.  Many of these species are never able to establish and spread in their new environments, but those that do can wreak havoc on native communities via a variety of interactions including predation, competition and hybridization.  In this talk, I will discuss a few of the effects of invasive species and introduce some of the major Texas invaders.  I will also discuss some of the methods that are currently being used to combat invasive species as well as genetic biocontrol technologies that are being investigated as potential amelioration techniques, some of which have already been put into practice in Australia.

Click here to download the poster from Laura’s SUTS Event!