BIOCOMPLEXITY--INCUBATION ACTIVITY: Risk Assessment of Nonindigenous Species

在评估非土著物种(NIS)对美国社会的风险时，这个跨学科团队将使用一个源自经济学理论的模型，综合NIS的生态、经济和社会效益与成本。非土著物种被引入到以前不存在的生态系统中。在世界淡水生态系统中，NIS是生物多样性丧失的主要原因；在大多数其他生态系统中，NIS是前三大原因之一。新生态系统不仅造成巨大的生态变化，而且还直接造成巨大的经济损失和社会变化(例如，新生态系统取代了当地可收获的资源)。尽管正在执行政策和条例以减少新生态系统的发生和影响(例如，五大湖和沿海水域的压舱物条例)，但这些步骤是在对生物入侵过程的生物、经济和社会层面缺乏基本科学了解的情况下采取的。这个由水生态学家、生态模型师和社会科学家组成的团队将以北美五大湖为例，开发一种综合的方法来评估国家创新系统的风险。

In assessing the risk to US society of nonindigenous species (NIS)-species introduced into an ecosystem in which they did not previously exist-this interdisciplinary team will use a model derived from economic theory to integrate ecological, economic, and social benefits and costs of NIS. In the freshwater ecosystems of the world, NIS are the leading cause of biodiversity loss; in most other ecosystems, NIS are one of the top three causes. Not only do NIS cause enormous ecological changes, but they also directly cause large economic losses and social change (e.g., as native harvestable resources are replaced by NIS). Although policies and regulations are being implementing to reduce the occurrence and impact of NIS (e.g., ballast regulations in the Great Lakes and coastal waters), these steps are being taken in the absence of a basic scientific understanding of the biological, economic, and social dimensions of the process of biological invasions. This team of aquatic ecologists, ecological modelers, and social scientists will develop an integrative approach to risk assessment of NIS, using the North American Great Lakes as a case study.