Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Political Science

2001 University Scholar Proposal

Invasive exotic plants are a serious problem affecting both economies and biodiversity on international, national and sub-national levels. For example, African nations are spending $60 million annually on the control of the invasive aquatic weeds, water hyacinth and water lettuce (Convention on Biological Diversity 2001); the Australian economy loses $3 billion a year to invasive plants; and invasive plants are the result of a $26 billion loss in the United States economy (Lonsdale and Mack 2001). Invasives are also the second largest threat to biodiversity in the world. Invasive plants have already taken over 100 million acres of land in the United States, and this destruction increases by eight to ten percent annually (Brumback 1998).

Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the invasive species problem (i.e., the need for scientific classification of the problem, causes and effects, and the subsequent public policy), biologists and policy-makers need to work together to develop appropriate regulatory control policies for the potentially invasive plant before it becomes a major problem. Thus, the University Scholar program will allow me to combine efficiently two seemingly unrelated disciplines, into a thesis that will enhance the current knowledge of an invasive plant species, and aid in the creation of preventative policy measures.

Invasive, exotic species are non-native to a particular country or region where they may aggressively compete with native species to form dense populations that negatively affect biodiversity and ecosystem function (Mehrhoff 1998). Many of the northern latitude, invasive exotic plant species have originated from similar climates in Europe and Asia, and were introduced accidentally (e.g., contaminants in seed lots) or purposely (e.g., as garden ornamentals or controls of other pests) (Lonsdale and Mack 2001). The exotics thrive in their introduced habitats because of their ability to grow and produce a massive amount of seeds or propagules unhindered by native pests and pathogens.

In response to the threat of invasives, the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro created the Convention on Biological Diversity, under the auspices of the United Nations Environmental Programme, to study and protect biodiversity, and educate people on the importance of biodiversity in the context of a developing world. The Summit noted that biological invasions are an, "impediment to conservation and sustainable use of global, regional and local biodiversity, with significant undesirable impacts on the goods and services provided by ecosystems" (Convention on Biological Diversity 2001). What was once a minimal problem has now exploded due the increasing globalization of markets, travel, tourism and the exchange of goods. Management costs to combat the environmental and socioeconomic impact of invasives, include not only costs of prevention, control and mitigation, but also indirect costs due to the impact on ecological services. The Convention stated that the mitigation, control and eradication of invasive alien species should be addressed with legislation and guidelines at the international, national and regional levels (Convention on Biological Diversity 2001).

On the national level, the United States has felt the cost of invasive plant species as a result of economic losses (e.g., agriculture and commerce) and control initiatives totaling more than $26 billion (Lonsdale and Mack 2001). The United States Senate has sought to address this problem when Majority leader, Thomas Daschle (D-SD), along with Senator Larry Craig (R- ID) (2001), introduced a bill to, "require the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to provide assistance through States to eligible weed management entities to control or eradicate harmful, nonnative weeds on public and private land."

In the United States, some states have laws and guidelines that control the flow of invasives across state borders by regulating agents of introduction like nursery trade and boating (i.e., aquatic invasive transferred between water bodies). Moreover, biologists and legislators from several states are working together on the New England Invasive Plant Project, which seeks to quantify the invasive threat, educate the public and develop compatible state legislation to control the spread.

The global environmental ramifications of non-native, invasive plants provide this project with an ideal interdisciplinary focus combining Ecology and Political Science. I plan to examine the problem of invasive plants and policy responses at the international, national and sub-national levels. I will specifically focus on the problem by studying the invasion dynamics of Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius). This will be a case study investigating a plant that is currently invasive in Australia, South Africa and California (Bossard and Rejmanek 1994) and suggested as "potentially invasive but need supporting documentation" in New England (Mehrhoff 2000).

The lack of extensive evidence of the invasive status of Scotch Broom in New England underscores an important point. Quite often, research and control of environmental problems is only undertaken after the problem is a substantial threat to the publics way of life, at which point it may be too late to be effectively controlled. Completion of this project will add the supporting evidence needed to determine the status of Scotch Broom as an invasive in New England and thus open the way for developing effective state policies of control and prevention.

Under the guidance of Dr.____, I will examine the role of globalization (e.g., the breakdown of trade and tourist barriers) as the catalyst for the increased spread of invasive plants. In addition, I will look at the progress of the existing international, national and sub-national efforts of international governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and governmental agencies to control invasive plants, such as Scotch Broom, and the level to which scientific advice is used in implementing these control policies.

By spending a semester in Australia, where Scotch Broom is a widespread, exotic invasive, I will obtain the background biological knowledge and seed samples needed to adequately assess the invasiveness of the New England Scotch Broom populations. I will be studying under Dr. Andrew Sheppard, who is a CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) biologist analyzing the ecology of Scotch Broom in its native (e.g., France) and non-native (e.g., Australia) locations as well as control options in Australia. Upon my return from Australia, I will work with Dr. _____ to choose study sites of Scotch Broom in New England (two options- Connecticut or Cape Cod). I will collect seed samples in addition to studying age structure, reproductive output and ecological conditions. These will be compared with similar observations on the Australian populations.

The age structure of a population is an assessment of the number of individuals in a certain age class. A population comprised mostly of individuals in the reproductive age class will profoundly influence the growth rate of the population. The reproductive output of the New England and Australian populations will be determined by quantifying the number of viable seeds produced by the plants of each. The ecological conditions (i.e., moisture, soil nutrients, climate, etc.) will also be compared at each location. If the ecological conditions where Scotch Broom grows in Australia are similar to New England, the populations may have similar performances (Gotelli 1995). By comparing the age structure, reproductive output and ecological conditions of the Australian population to that of the New England population, I will be able to see if the New England populations are increasing at the same invasive rate as the Australian populations.

In addition to the comparison of the two populations, I will assess the interspecific competition between the New England Scotch Broom plants and selected native plants. I will plant Scotch Broom in an experimental greenhouse or garden plots along with the native plants. The effects of Scotch Broom on the performance or fitness of the native plant populations will be quantified by measuring the density of the Scotch Broom versus the density of the native plants, and quantifying the growth and/or reproductive output of the native plants (Begon and Mortimer 1986).

The following courses are relevant background for this proposal: NRME 240 Environmental Law, GEOG 237 Environmental Planning and Management, POLS 219 Politics of American Foreign Policy, POLS 297 Supervised Field Work (UConn Model United Nations), EEB 205 Current Issues in Environmental Science, EEB 244W General Ecology, EEB 245W Evolutionary Biology, EEB 310 Conservation Biology, and EEB 452 Field Ecology. In addition to these background courses, I have worked in the Torrey Life Sciences' Herbarium on the New England Invasive Plant project, and studied sustainable development in Costa Rica through a Boston University summer program.

I have completed all of my University general education requirements to receive a BA. The following courses will provide an adequate background for my University Scholar thesis, while satisfying Political Science and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology major requirements (substitutions approved by both advisors).Career Goals

In college, a student usually majors in either a science or humanity, not both. This academic pattern is further mirrored in the job sector, leading to a lack of shared information, especially in the public policy forum where politicians quite often enact legislation based on false environmental information. My Political Science and Ecology majors will provide me with the ability to know how to focus my political conservation efforts and a strong background in science in order to know which environmental policies are feasible and effective. Therefore, I believe that I will be best prepared for a job in an environmental lobbying firm, conservation non-governmental organization (i.e., Nature Conservancy or Sierra Club), or the United Nations.

Begon, M. and M. Mortimer. 1986. Population Ecology, A Unified Study of Animals

and Plants. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc. 219 pp.

Bossard, C.C. and M. Rejmanek. 1994. Herbivory, growth, seed production, and

resprouting of an exotic invasive shrub Cytisus scoparius. Biological

Conservation 67(3): 193-200.

Brumback, W. 1998. New Englands Green Invasion. Conservation Notes of the New

England Wild Flower Society 2(3): 4-6.

Convention on Biological Diversity. 2001. United Nations Environmental Programme,

www.biodiv.org

Craig, L. and T. Dashcle. Harmful Nonnative Weed Control Act of 2000. United States

Senate Bill 198. Introduced January 29, 2001.

Gotelli, N.J. 1995. A Primer of Ecology. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc.

206 pp.

Lonsdale, W.M. and R.N. Mack. 2001. Humans as global plant disperses: getting more

than we bargained for. BioScience 51(2): 95-102.

Mehrhoff, L.J. 2000. "No New Invasions; A Provisional List of Non-Native Invasive

and Potentially Invasive Plants in New England." Connecticut Invasive Plant

Working Group. www.eeb.uconn.edu/invasives

Mehrhoff, L.J. 1998. The Biology of Plant Invasiveness. Conservation Notes of the

New England Wild Flower Society 2(3): 8-10.