#49 | Habitat University - Exploring the challenges of invasive species, ft. Dawn Slack & Dr. Bronson Strickland

 Ask anyone what they’re doing for wildlife habitat and you’re sure to hear mention of the challenges of invasive species. From aquatic invasive species that restructure entire food webs of Great Lakes to carpets of exotic grasses changing fire regimes in the west, invasive species are everywhere. In this episode, Jarred and Adam first dig in on the science of invasive species and discuss the challenges they present for wildlife and wildlife habitat. Then, we feature short discussions with Dawn Slack of The Nature Conservancy in Indiana to hear about her team’s hand-to-hand combat with invasive plants and Bronson Strickland to get the scoop on invasive feral pigs in the southeast.    

Help us improve the podcast by taking this Habitat University Listener Feedback Survey: https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5oteinFuEzFCDmm

This episode's guests included Dawn Slack from the the Nature Conservancy in Indiana (https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/indiana/) and Dr. Bronson Strickland from Mississippi State University (http://extension.msstate.edu/wildlife-fisheries-aquaculture/dr-bronson-strickland).

From our discussion of invasive plant definitions, USDA’s definitions (https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/ct/technical/ecoscience/invasive/?cid=nrcs142p2_011124) and Grace College’s definition (https://lakes.grace.edu/native-non-native-invasive-species/).

Learn more about the idea of the “Invasion triangle” we discussed in the episode with this paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.47

Download the paper from Iowa that discusses the characteristics of exotic invasive woody plants in Iowa: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1082&context=ncrpis_pubs

References mentioned in the discussion with Dawn Slack:

Indiana Invasive Species Council - https://www.entm.purdue.edu/iisc/index.html

Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasive Management - http://www.sicim.info/

Find a Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area - https://www.invasive.org/cismas/

Invasive and Exotic Species of North America - https://www.invasive.org/

Learn more about invasive pigs here: https://www.wildpiginfo.msstate.edu/index.php

Midwest Invasive Plant Network: https://www.mipn.org/

Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council: https://www.se-eppc.org/index.cfm

University of Georgia’s Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health - https://www.bugwood.org/index.cfm

Iowa State resources: https://naturalresources.extension.iastate.edu/invasives