Presented by Julian D. Olden to the Invasive Species Advisory Committee of the National Invasive Species Council (2012)

1. Julian
D.
Olden
University
of
Washington
Emerging
Vectors
of
Biological
Invasions
in
the
E-­‐commerce
Era

2. • Risk
of
biological
invasions
are
present
from
all
trades
that
transport
live
organisms
– aquaculture,
horticulture,
live
food,
pet,
biological
supply,
and
bait
• 2.8
billion
live
animals
were
legally
imported
into
the
U.S.
over
the
last
decade
(Romagosa
2011);
96%
of
fish
shipments
were
not
identified
(Smith
et
al.
2008)
Species
invasion
risk
from
trade
Halpern
et
al.
2008
Hulme
2009

3. • The
Internet
has
unquestionably
broken
down
geographic
and
communication
barriers
associated
with
business
and
spawned
the
e-­‐commence
industry
Challenges
(modified
from
ISAC
Prevention
Sub-­‐committee
Draft
Doc.)
1. Increased
volume
and
diversity
of
the
e-­‐commence
sector
2. Difficulties
for
government
authorities
to
implement
and
enforce
regulations
pertaining
to
e-­‐commence
3. Leverage
the
power
of
the
Internet
to
enhance
public
awareness
and
education
The
rapid
growth
of
e-­‐commence

4. • Risk
assessment
offers
the
most
objective
policy
approach
to
allowing
or
prohibiting
species
in
e-­‐commence
• “Know
thy
self,
know
thy
enemy.
A
thousand
battles,
a
thousand
victories.”
–
Sun
Tzu
• E-­‐commence
provides
new
opportunities
to
import
new
species
from
previously
untapped
parts
of
the
world
Invasive
species
risk
assessment

5. • How
will
global
changes
in
trade
and
climate
influence
the
supply
and
demand
for
introduced
ornamental
plants
in
the
United
States?
• What
policy
and
educational
opportunities
exist
to
reduce
the
risk
of
invasion
from
e-­‐commence?
Today’s
Presentation

6. • Gardeners
are
poised
to
plant
new
species
from
warmer
regions,
as
earlier
onset
of
spring
and
warmer
temperatures
decrease
the
requirement
for
winter-­‐hardiness
in
ornamental
plants
• Similarly,
as
human
populations
increase
in
arid
regions
of
the
world,
demand
for
drought-­‐tolerant
plants
is
expanding

7. Supply
+
69%
+
9%

8. Demand
• Xeriscaping
–
the
use
of
drought-­‐tolerant
plants
in
landscaping
–
could
increase
as
the
climate
warms
and
the
availability
and
variety
of
drought-­‐tolerant
species
grows
• One
nursery
expanded
its
drought-­‐tolerant
species
offerings
by
37%
between
2005
and
2011

9. Shifting
hardiness
zones
and
the
American
gardener

10. • The
intersection
of
emerging
supply
and
demand
forces
creates
considerable
motivation
for
novel
species
introductions
and
poses
the
greatest
risk
for
a
new
wave
of
plant
invasions
into
the
U.S.
• Climate
change
is
likely
to
shift
hardiness
zones
northward
and
upward
in
elevation,
increasing
the
land
area
in
warm
zones
and
altering
demand
for
horticulture
species
• Supplies
of
novel
species
from
emerging
trade
partners
could
meet
increasing
demand
for
species
adapted
to
warm
and
dry
environments.
Summary

11. • “Black
Lists”
that
label
plants
as
“prohibited”
or
“restricted”
after
they
are
proven
harmful
will
be
ineffective
in
an
era
of
climate
change
and
emerging
growth
of
e-­‐commence
• Emerging
US
trade
partners
are
unlikely
to
have
long
established
trade
relations,
so
the
invasiveness
of
species
supplied
by
these
partners
will
be
unknown
• Addition
of
“Not
authorized
pending
pest
risk
analysis”
category
(USDA
APHIS)
represents
a
positive
step
forward
in
the
prevention
of
new
invasive
plants
Management
and
policy
implications

12. Education
and
public
awareness:
Social
commence
is
the
next
evolution
of
online
shopping
• Social
commerce
is
when
a
retailer
uses
its
social
networking
site
as
a
commerce
platform;
in
other
words,
social
commerce
is
the
use
of
social
network(s)
in
the
context
of
e-­‐commerce
transactions
• Social
commence
represents
a
huge
educational
opportunity,
but
how
best
to
capitalize?
• Go
beyond
mere
web-­‐presence
by
engaging
in
social
media
(i.e.,
actively
contribute
to
chat
groups
and
Internet
forums)
to
educate
regarding
the
purchase
and
proper
disposal
of
live
organisms