A response to “Media representation of hemlock woolly adelgid management risks: a case study of science communication and invasive species control,” published in biological invasions online on September 18, 2018

Abstract The primary role for science in addressing complex environmental problems, such as biological invasions, is generally assumed to be as a guide for management decisions. However, science often plays a minor role in decision-making, with practitioners instead relying on professional experience and local knowledge. We explore alternative pathways by which science could help reduce the spread and impacts of invasive species. Our study centred on attempts to understand the science needs of three local governance bodies responsible for the management of invasive (wilding) conifer species in the southern South Island of New Zealand. We used a combination of workshop discussions, questionnaire responses and visits to field sites to elicit feedback from study participants. We applied a mixed inductive-deductive thematic analysis approach to derive themes from the feedback received. The three main themes identified were: 1) Impacts of wilding conifers and goals for wilding conifer control; 2) barriers to achieving medium- and long-term goals; and 3) science needed to support wilding conifer control.Participants identified both instrumental (e.g. reduced water availability for agriculture) and intrinsic (e.g. loss of biodiversity and landscape values) impacts of wilding conifer invasions, with long-term goals focussed on avoiding or reversing these impacts. Barriers to achieving goals were overwhelmingly social, relating either to unwillingness of landowners to participate or poorly designed regulatory frameworks. Consequently, science needs related primarily to gaining social licence to remove wilding conifers from private land and for more appropriate regulations. Participants did not perceive any need for additional scientific information to guide management decisions, relying instead on professional experience and local knowledge. International experience suggests that invasive species control programmes often face significant external social barriers. Thus, for many biological invasions the primary role for science might be to achieve social licence and regulatory support for the long-term goals of invasive species control programmes and the management interventions required to achieve those goals.

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Integrating animal manure-based bioenergy production with invasive species control: A case study at Tongren Pig Farm in China

Biomass and Bioenergy ◽

10.1016/j.biombioe.2010.01.026 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 34 (6) ◽

pp. 821-827 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Jianbo Lu ◽

Lei Zhu ◽

Guoliang Hu ◽

Jianguo Wu

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Animal Manure ◽

Bioenergy Production ◽

Invasive Species Control ◽

Pig Farm

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Implementing invasive species control: a case study of multi-jurisdictional coordination at Lake Tahoe, USA

Management of Biological Invasions ◽

10.3391/mbi.2015.6.4.01 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 319-328 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Marion Wittmann ◽

Sudeep Chandra ◽

Kim Boyd ◽

Christopher Jerde

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Lake Tahoe ◽

Invasive Species Control

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Use of Google Earth in biosecurity moth trapping in California

New Zealand Plant Protection ◽

10.30843/nzpp.2011.64.5995 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 64 ◽

pp. 288-288

Author(s):

T.E.S. Sullivan ◽

L.D. Stringer ◽

G.S. Simmons ◽

K. Harding ◽

D.M. Suckling

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

New Zealand ◽

Information Management ◽

Population Expansion ◽

Google Earth ◽

Argentine Ant ◽

Light Brown Apple Moth ◽

Mapping Software ◽

Invasive Species Control

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been used during major invasive insect incursion responses in New Zealand since about 1999 The exchange of local mapping software enabled sharing of data that could be reviewed and analysed by researchers and programme response personnel across the country to help develop invasive species control and response plans quickly Two examples include the New Zealand response to the Argentine ant and painted apple moth invasions Advances in web services have globalised delivery of information and Google Earth in particular has offered novel value that has been explored with cooperators in USDA Here data were converted from a excel spreadsheet to kml format plotted in various predetermined ways and saved as a kmz file that could be emailed Lower than desired analytical functionality was met by better forward planning of analyses for mapping The population expansion of the light brown apple moth in California is offered as a case study to indicate how rapidly evolving tools can help surveillance programmes and contrasts with earlier surveillance information management methods used in New Zealand

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Using community engagement and biodiversity surveys to inform decisions to control invasive species: a case study of yellow crazy ants in Atafu, Tokelau

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc17055 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 379 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Monica A. M. Gruber ◽

Raymond J. Pierce ◽

Allan R. Burne ◽

Luisa Naseri-Sale ◽

Philip J. Lester

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Reproductive Output ◽

Control Program ◽

Direct Effects ◽

Ant Communities ◽

Invertebrate Diversity ◽

Invasive Species Control ◽

Nesting Behaviour ◽

Negative Impacts

For conservation ecologists, the justification for restoration that involves the removal of invasive species is often made on the perception of impacts on biodiversity. However, invasive species control decisions can also be driven by the perceived direct impacts on people. Our case study reports on the ecological and human perspectives that drove the decision to control yellow crazy ants in Atafu, Tokelau. We surveyed the effects of yellow crazy ants at varying abundance on attitudes of people, diversity of ant communities, and white tern nesting behaviour in Atafu. Direct effects of yellow crazy ants on people included complaints that they ‘ruined the garden’, ate the ‘food for pigs that is kept outside’, and residents in areas with high ant infestations ‘can’t sleep outside anymore’. Yellow crazy ant abundance was positively correlated with both negative impacts on common ant species and the concern people expressed over the effects of the ant on their lives, but was not associated with differences in ant species richness or invertebrate diversity. We also found that yellow crazy ant abundance was negatively associated with the reproductive output of white terns. In addition, we found that people and white terns were more sensitive than ant communities to the effects of yellow crazy ants when the ants were at lower abundance. Based on our surveys of impacts on the villagers and biodiversity values on Atafu, the decision was made to embark on a control program, which was predicted to benefit both people and the environment.

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Hemlock Hospice: landscape ecology, art, and design as science communication

10.31235/osf.io/tw5ga ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

aaron ellison ◽

David Buckley Borden

Keyword(s):

Landscape Ecology ◽

Science Communication ◽

Direct Action ◽

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid ◽

Eastern Hemlock ◽

Democratic Process ◽

Collaborative Process ◽

Art And Design ◽

Harvard Forest

Interdisciplinary science-communication projects at the intersection of landscape ecology, art, and design are effectively realized through a democratic process involving co-equal collaborators. We illustrate this collaborative process through a case study of Hemlock Hospice, a 3000-meter-long art-based, site-specific interpretive trail at Harvard University’s Harvard Forest. At one level, Hemlock Hospice describes the ongoing demise of the eastern hemlock tree caused by a tiny aphid-like insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid. More broadly, Hemlock Hospice addresses issues of climate change, human impact, and the future of the world’s forests. This case study highlights gains realized from embedding artists and designers in an active scientific research site while specifically including scientists as full partners in designing and producing mission-driven educational artwork. It also illuminates challenges of democratizing art/science collaborations, including different modes of communication among participants; appropriate levels of financial support; different measures of scientific and artistic success; and creating opportunities for direct action.

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Genome Editing or Genome Cutting? Communicating CRISPR in the British and German Press

Yearbook of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association ◽

10.1515/gcla-2020-0004 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 45-66

Author(s):

Yoo Yung Lee

Keyword(s):

Science Communication ◽

Public Discourse ◽

Word Processor ◽

Public Science ◽

German Press ◽

Legal Questions ◽

British Press ◽

Legal Frameworks

AbstractIn this paper, I analyze the role of metaphors in public science communication. Specifically, it is a case study of the metaphors for CRISPR/Cas9, a controversial biotechnology that enables scientists to alter the DNA of any organism with unprecedented ease and has raised a number of societal, ethical and legal questions concerning its applications – most notably, on its usage on the human germline. Using a corpus of 600 newspaper articles from the British and German press, I show that there are striking differences in how these two European countries construe CRISPR in public discourse: the British press promotes the image of CRISPR as a word processor that allows scientists to edit the DNA, replacing spelling mistakes with healthy genes, whereas the German press depicts CRISPR as genetic scissors and thereby underlines the risk of mutations after cutting the DNA. I suggest that this contrast reflects differences in the legal frameworks of the respective countries and may influence the attitudes towards emerging biotechnologies among the British and German public.

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