A framework to integrate innovations in invasion science for proactive management.

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Environmental Science
• Conservation Biology

Background:

• Invasive alien species (IAS) pose significant threats to biodiversity, national security, and economies, costing billions annually.
• Climate change exacerbates the impact and spread of IAS, necessitating proactive management strategies.
• Current innovation in IAS research and management tools outpaces implementation and coordination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize technological and methodological advances for IAS research and management.
• To bridge the implementation gap by integrating diverse scientific approaches.
• To present a generalized framework for actionable science in invasion biology.

Main Methods:

• Review of advances in remote sensing, epidemiology, big data analytics, environmental DNA (eDNA), and genomics.
• Development of an integrated workflow for distilling data into actionable products.
• Focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and synergy.

Main Results:

• Identification of diverse technologies and approaches with potential to accelerate IAS research.
• Presentation of a generalized framework for proactive IAS management.
• Demonstration of the utility of synthesizing work from various fields.

Conclusions:

• Urgent need for technological and methodological syntheses to address the IAS crisis.
• An integrated workflow can facilitate coordinated, synergistic, and scalable contributions to invasion biology.
• Actionable science derived from diverse data sources is crucial for effective IAS management.