Viruses and Diseases

Viruses and diseases are some times controversially referred to as invasive species. Sometimes it's the vector or organism that carries and/or spreads the infection that is invasive or simply not native to a region. Click on the links in this sentence for more information about Avian Influenza / Bird Flu, or West Nile Virus.

Celebrating the Past and Looking to the Future

Invasive Species Specialist Group, online at http://www.issg.org

The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) and the IUCN Species Survival Commission's Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) are celebrating 5 successful years of partnership, which has lead to some great resources. You can access quadruple the number of invasive species than when the partnership began. A mirror Web site now makes for fast, easy, worldwide access to information on the invasive species problem. New tools let you search for and share invasive species information globally. And the Global Invasive Species Database is now easier to use.

more...

Invasive Species Information Node

Natural ecosystems are under siege by many harmful species of plants, animals and diseases. The impacts of invasive species are second only to habitat destruction as a cause of global biodiversity loss. The current environmental, economic, and health costs of invasive species could exceed $US138 billion per year, more than all other natural disasters combined. Notorious examples include:

Hundreds of new species from other countries are introduced intentionally or accidentally into the US each year. And many species originating in the US have been introduced into other parts of the world. This threat intensifies the need for scientists, managers, and the many stakeholders to rally together to build better systems for invasion prevention, improve early detection of invaders, track established invaders, and coordinate containment, control, and effective habitat restoration.

Invasive Species of the Week
(IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group - ISSG)

Click on the button below to open a PDF file of a fact sheet for the 'Invasive Species of the Week'.

The ISSG has launched this 'Invasive Species of the Week' button to raise awareness of the impacts of invasive species on native biodiversity and threatened ecosystems. For information about how to add this button to your own Web site, contact Shyama Pagad (Manager, Species Information Services, IUCN SSC ISSG).

Conferences of Interest


 
  23rd Asian-Pacific Weed Science Society Conference
9/25/2011 - 9/30/2011
Cairns, Queensland
Australia

  23rd Asia-Pacific Weed Science Society Conference
9/25/2011 - 9/30/2011
Sebel Cairns, 
Australia

  XIII International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds (ISBCW)
10/11/2011 - 10/16/2011
Waikoloa, Hawaii
United States

  Texas Invasive Plant and Pest Conference
11/7/2011 - 11/10/2011
Austin, Texas
United States


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