A prototype Decision Support System for evaluating threats of potentially invasive birds.
Thane K. Pratt, Brian P. Farm, and Lloyd L. Loope
In this project, we, in partnership with the State of Hawai`i Departments of Agriculture and Land and Natural Resources, will develop a DSS on alien birds to: (1) identify factors in the population ecology and life history of a species that contribute to its ability to become invasive, (2) predict the probability that a given species will become invasive in Hawai`i, and (3) predict the threat posed by the species to natural and cultural systems within Hawai`i. This prototype model will be built on a world survey of literature on the two groups of birds most associated with the bird trade: parrots and estrildid finches (ca. 340 and 127 species, respectively). Both are seriously harmful to agriculture and natural ecosystems. As a further objective of this initial project, we will explore how the model can be developed for other groups of vertebrates, e.g., herpetofauna and fishes.
|
