Workshop: RoL:FELS: Invasion Biology Rules of Life; March 25-28, 2019, West Greenwich, Rhode Island

A principal product of globalization is the introduction and spread of non-native species, with many of these species reducing biodiversity or imposing substantial harm to our economy, agriculture, and human health. This workshop will bring together scientists from data science and diverse areas of biology to build an integrated understanding of the "rules" by which organismal biology combines with local ecological conditions to allow invasive species to expand their range and impact ecosystem function. Participants have expertise across a wide variety of organisms and ecosystems, including plants, animals, and microbes living in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments. The goal of the workshop is to develop novel interdisciplinary approaches and perspectives that strengthen our understanding of invasive species impacts and how these impacts vary across locations. Such insights will fill critical knowledge gaps related to preventing and managing invasive species at the local, state, and national levels. The results will be shared through scientific publications, news media, and direct interactions with the National Invasive Species Council. This workshop on the invasion biology rules of life will integrate largely distinct research approaches to enhance scientific understanding of invasion spread and impacts. Key objectives are to improve (1) prediction of both establishment of a non-native species and invasion impacts on native species and ecological processes, at more highly resolved spatial and temporal scales and (2) methods of integrating invasion observations from citizens and scientists into more highly detailed databases that, in turn, can depict not only occurrences of non-native species but also impacts. Both objectives will lead to more effective prediction and management of invasion impacts and better policies to support these goals. Participants will link mechanistic models of invasion spread, based on physiological and other traits, to species distribution models based on various statistical treatments of geographically structured environmental data. They will then assess whether the linked models produce better predictions of invasion impacts at scales relevant to management and direct researchers toward better understanding of why impacts of particular invaders vary greatly across space and time. In addition, the workshop will evaluate how best to assemble and use invasive species data gathered from a wide range of sources into integrated databases that aid research on invasion processes and impacts and assist managers and policymakers in efficiently responding to potential and actual invasions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.