Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Pacific Northwest CESU
The US Geological Survey, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, is offering a funding opportunity to predict high-impact insect invasion by identifying traits and factors that influence the risk of introduced herbivorous insects on North American native plants. Experts on insect and host plant evolutionary history, presence or absence of host defenses, presence or absence of natural enemies, invader traits, and geographic and temporal considerations will come together to perform a continental study of high impact insect invasions caused by genus specialists. The proposed activities will develop a framework for predicting those insects that will threaten the existence of their novel host plants prior to their establishment. Specific tasks include data compilation and synthesis, model development and validation, and model evaluation and application. Results will be presented at scientific meetings, published in the open literature, and presented to resource managers in fact sheets or outreach bulletins. Data will be made publicly available.
Office: Geological Survey
fgraves@usgs.gov
