Evaluating the Feasibility of Eradicating an Invasion

Abstract

The detectability of invasive organisms influences the costs and benefits of alternative control strategies, and the feasibility of eradicating an infestation. Search theory offers a mathematically rigorous framework for defining and measuring detectability taking account of searcher ability, biological factors and the search environment. In this paper, invasive species detectability is incorporated into a population simulation model. The model is applied to a base set of parameter values that represent reasonable values for a hypothetical weed. The analysis shows the effects of detectability and search effort on the duration of an eradication program. For a given level of detectability and search time, the analysis shows that the variables with the greatest influence on the duration of the eradication effort are search speed, kill efficiency, germination rate and seed longevity. Monte Carlo simulations are performed on a set of four weed scenarios, involving different combinations of plant longevity, seed longevity and plant fecundity. Results of these simulations are presented as probability distributions and allow us to calculate how the probability of eradication will be affected by search strategy.

Risk management to prioritise the eradication of new and emerging invasive non-native species

“…Initial criteria were developed in consultation with this group taking into consideration existing literature on INNS risk analysis and eradication (in particular Baker et al 2005;Cacho et al 2006;Cunningham et al 2003;Genovesi 2005Genovesi , 2007Hiebert and Stubbendieck 1993;Hulme 2006;Johnson 2009;Kehlenbeck et al 2012;Mehta et al 2010;Randall et al 2008;Rejmánek and Pitcairn 2002;Simberloff 2003Simberloff , 2009Sunley et al 2012;Virtue 2010). Refinements were made to the scheme during an initial trial in March 2014 and subsequently the expert elicitation and consensus-building process described below.…”

Invasion and eradication of a competitively superior species in heterogeneous landscapes

“…Moody and Mack, 1988;Myers et al, 1998). Recently, the practical issue of balancing the benefits of early detection against the costs of this action have been analyzed (Cacho et al, 2006;Mehta et al, 2007;Baxter et al, 2008;Bogich et al, 2008). Such studies show that the optimal effort towards early detection is modified by factors such as the ease of detection, the population growth rate of the invasive species and the costs incurred by not controlling the invasive species.…”

“…species re-invasion from neighboring areas after successful local elimination), the difficulty in detecting an invasive species, and the limited duration of a control program (Mack et al, 2000;Manchester and Bullock, 2000;Myers et al, 2000;Simberloff, 2001;Zavaleta et al, 2001;Nogales et al, 2004;Russell et al, 2005;Cacho et al, 2006;Regan et al, 2006;Howald et al, 2007;Václavík and Meentemeyer, 2009). Although spatial aspects are a component in many of these reasons for failure, very few theoretical studies have considered control programs in an explicitly spatial context (but see Eisinger and Thulke, 2008).…”

Towards the successful control of the invasive Pseudorasbora parva in the UK

“…This requires a further assessment (e.g. Cacho et al 2006). Public opinion is also important to consider here, as sections of society may find the use of nonhost specific eradication methods ethically questionable, despite their apparent efficacy (Philip and MacMillan 2005;Bremner and Park 2007).…”