Invasive species, such as vertebrate pests, weeds, marine pests and diseases, are a key threat to Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries and the environment.
ABARES invasive species research and analysis contributes to Australia’s preparedness for the incursion of exotic species, and the management of nationally significant pests, weeds and diseases, as well as their potential impacts on Australia’s economy, society and environment.
The Invasive Species team provides research, analysis and advice to policy areas of the Department of Agriculture, the IGAB, NEBRA, Sectoral Committees (Environment and Invasives Committee and Marine Pest Sectoral Committee), emergency response consultative committees, pest and weed technical advisory groups, and external clients.
ABARES invasive species research is part of ABARES’ broader research focus on biosecurity.
Main capabilities and key projects in 2018–19
What do we provide?
- scientific advice on invasive species and biosecurity-related issues, pre- and post-border
- development of tools, methodologies and risk assessment to underpin the national approach to pre- and post-border biosecurity
- risk assessment of exotic and established invasive species including the analysis of the impacts of weeds, pest animal and marine pests on the economy, the environment and society
- prioritisation of invasive species
- species distribution modelling
- data collection and analysis
- research leadership and stakeholder engagement
Our key projects in 2018–19 include:
Resources
Climatch: species range prediction
You can use Climatch to predict the potential range of a species. This model matches climate data from weather stations where the species occurs to climate data from weather stations in other selected regions.
Pestsmart connect
How pests are managed in Australia
Weeds of National Significance
Find out which weeds need management
The National Introduced Marine Pest Information System
Search for introduced marine species
ABARES Invasive Species publications
Find our specialist reports on invasive species