Invasive Species Stakeholders: Collecting, Sharing, and Using Information. Proceedings of a Roundtable

摘要

Many non-native plant and animal species are considered 'invasive' and, as such, are extremely costly to both the U.S. economy and our environment. The costs of invasive species - including plants, insects, microbes, reptiles, fish, birds and mammals - that have been purposely or accidentally introduced into the U.S. are in the tens of billions of dollars per year. Some authorities estimate those costs exceed $100 billion annually. Additionally, invasive species play a major role in the decline of threatened and endangered species and pose a significant challenge to maintaining biodiversity. Invasive species do not recognize boundaries. Therefore, all stakeholders in a given ecosystem/ community/region must be involved to effectively control invasive species and diminish their impacts. Likewise, initiatives to control or limit invasive species must be balanced to keep management programs practical.