Workshop. Invasive species-threat and management. Bialowieza, Poland.

Invasive species – threat and management; what has ecological theory to offer when deciding how to deal with established invasive species?

18–21 September 2012, Białowieża, Poland

Organized by the Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences (MRI PAS)
funded by the European Union BIOCONSUS project

The emergence of invasion ecology as an integrative discipline required a deeper understanding of evolution, ecology, population genetics, management as well as environmental economics. Currently, invasion ecology plays an increasingly important role in biodiversity conservation. The field has evolved rapidly over the last decade, addressing key population and conservation issues in natural ecosystems often within a large geographical context. Incorporation of sophisticated GIS data, population modelling, genetic and genomic analysis and environmental economics into invasive ecology has greatly aided scientists in identifying the important mechanisms affecting invasion of non-native species, their adaptation, evolution and interaction with native species in introduced environments.The main goal of the workshop will be to bring together established researchers working in the fields of biology and ecology of invasive species and conservationists aiming at mitigating the negative impact of non-native species based on population ecology to present and discuss current research. These include the results of current empirical studies, theoretical and computational tools for the study of invasive species and the development of predictive models incorporating the latest environmental/habitat and genetic data in the management of invasive species and management attempt that are informed by science. The Workshop will also be a great opportunity to establish collaborations between individuals and organizations to encourage further work and advancement in the field of invasion ecology and non-native species management (especially concerned to mammals).

The workshop is a 4-days event and consists of a series of mini-workshops, each focussing on one central theme during one day. Each mini-workshop is introduced by 1 or 2 specialists on the specific theme with a 45 minute talk, where she/he introduces the theme using her/his study areas and then philosophises about how it might work in other areas.

Dr. Iñigo Zuberogoitia talks today, september 19, with the presentation: "Is it possible to eradicate American mink population?"

Will keep you informed!