Balancing Monitoring and Management in the Adaptive Management of an Invasive Species

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Invasive Species Management
• Conservation Biology

Background:

• Effective invasive species control requires optimal resource allocation between monitoring and management.
• Adaptive management relies on monitoring data for iterative improvement but incurs costs.
• Community science offers a cost-effective way to gather crucial monitoring data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate optimal spatial resource allocation for monitoring and management.
• To evaluate the utility of community science data in invasive species management.
• To apply adaptive management principles to invasive flowering rush in the Columbia River.

Main Methods:

• Management strategy evaluation using simulations.
• Comparison of prioritization strategies: Epicenter, Linear, and High invasion.
• Assessment under varying invasion conditions and decision-maker risk tolerance.

Main Results:

• Prioritizing outward from the invasion epicenter consistently yielded the lowest infestation levels.
• Increased allocation to removal over monitoring improved management outcomes.
• Community science data enhanced outcomes in specific scenarios.

Conclusions:

• Epicenter prioritization is a robust strategy for invasive species management.
• Balancing removal and monitoring efforts is crucial for effective control.
• Value of information principles should guide monitoring efforts in adaptive management.