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7 Enhancing the Science in a Science-Based System
Pages 141-151

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From page 141...
... Reliance on natural history, that is, empirical studies and careful observation of species outside the United States, whether in their native ranges or in other new ranges will remain a cornerstone of the prediction of the behavior of nonindigenous species before their entry into the United States. This practice is engrained in all current national and international systems for evaluation of the threats posed by nonindigenous species, such as the International Phytosanitary Protection Convention (FAO 1997, Pheloung et al.
From page 142...
... The committee found that specific, relevant information on the performance of species in new ranges is lacking, especially the results from experiments designed to evaluate the ability of nonindigenous species to persist and proliferate in a broad range of environmental conditions. Heretofore there has been insufficient attention to the fate of immigrant populations in demographic terms, except for scattered accounts of organisms released as agents of biological control and some plant pathogens.
From page 143...
... A more systematized manner is needed to report and to access what is known about the natural history of potential immigrants, including species with a record of invasion, and results of localized pest surveys or evaluations of biocontrol releases. Such a system could provide a relatively rapid process for determining what is known about a species' natural history, native and current new ranges, habitat, hosts, prey, and impact.
From page 144...
... Improved technology to detect hitchhiking insects and plant pathogens arriving with cargo, baggage, and related commodities could improve the utility of the PIN database (as well as reduce opportunities for new, potentially invasive pests to immigrate)
From page 145...
... Controlled experimental field screening for potentially invasive species should be pursued for species whose features are associated with establishment and rapid spread without cultivation and whose immigration history is unknown. Similar efforts to acquire life-history and population data in situations that approximate field settings would be beneficial in the case of nonindigenous insects and pathogens of concern, including species proposed for deliberate introduction.
From page 146...
... Recommendation 5. A literature synthesis on the natural history of potential immigrant species, similar to the "Biology of Weeds" series published by the Canadian Journal of Plant Science, should be established, standardized, and made accessible via the Internet.
From page 147...
... A consensus on procedures to measure the impact of invasive species should be forged in the scientific and regulatory communities, and there should be more reporting of impacts of invasive species with standardized measures. Without consistent measures of impact, conclusions about the potential consequences of an invasive plant pest will remain vague; this will hamper the incorporation of impact into predictive systems, including risk assessments.
From page 148...
... For example, beech bark disease is a lethal disease complex in which a scale insect, Cryptococcus fagisuga, predisposes beech bark to infection by several taxa of the fungal genus Nectria. Although a native Nectria species complexes with C
From page 149...
... A substantial effort should be made to document the fate of these organisms, including the efficacy of the introduced organism on the target pest and on nontarget species, as a guide to the performance of unintended releases and as a mechanism to improve risk assessment in deliberate introductions of nonindigenous species. Understanding and quantifying the forces that cause populations to become extinct, especially by natural forces in a new range, will prove central to building our understanding of the invasion process (Harper 1982, Mack et al.
From page 150...
... Information that could be collected by such a facility includes much of the types suggested in this report, such as the documentation of newly detected nonindigenous organisms in the United States, information on biotic invasions around the world, and the results of organisms released for biological control. The creation of a central facility of this type would help with efforts to predict invasive species and is consistent with the goals of the National Invasive Species Council (2001~.
From page 151...
... This sense of urgency in moving in a deliberate manner from expert judgment to prediction on the basis of experimentation is driven by the pressing societal need to deal fairly, adequately, and swiftly with an unparalleled volume and scope of trade involving nonindigenous species. These are policy issues, based in science, that cannot be left lingering and cannot be resolved through happenstance investigation.


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