​Workshop on tropical invasive species ecology

The workshop participants at Lower Peirce Reservoir boardwalk

 

Most work on invasive species and their ecological effects in terrestrial environments has been done in temperate areas, and current theory is based on this work. Despite a lack of ecological studies on biological invasions in the tropics, Singapore and its surrounding regions certainly have invasive species, for example the climber species Dioscorea sansibarensis. The workshop involved 17 invasive species ecologists from 7 different countries. Discussion topics included “Are the tropics as invaded as temperate regions but simply less studied?”, “Do invasive species have as important ecological effects in the tropics as they do in the temperate zone?”, and “Should we expect invasions to increase in the tropics in the future, and if so, how can we adapt to that?”.

The workshop will result in a paper on terrestrial invasive species in the tropics as well as integration of the work of the ASE ecology group with that of NParks’and FRAP.

Read more on the workshop at the Smithsonian NTU Partnership Blog here