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Includes species related publications, webinars and other resources.

Includes species related publications, webinars and other resources.

Includes species related publications, webinars and other resources.

Includes species related publications, webinars and other resources.

Includes species related publications, webinars and other resources.

Includes species related publications, webinars and other resources.

Includes species related publications, webinars and other resources.

Includes species related publications, webinars and other resources.

Includes species related publications, webinars and other resources.

Find upcoming invasive species related webinars (plants, insects, diseases) as well as archived webinars by topic.

The annual competitive grants program, Southern IPM Grants, (formerly Enhancement Grants) regionally address Global Food Security challenges including invasive species, endangered species, pest resistance, and impacts resulting from regulatory actions. All projects must further their mission, which is to foster the development and adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a science-based approach to managing pests in ways that generate economic, environmental, and human health benefits. Funding is outcome-based.

White-nose syndrome (WNS) has killed more than six million bats over the past decade. WNS is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). Studies show that bats eat enough insect pests to save the U.S. corn industry more than $1 billion a year in crop damage and pesticide costs, and more than $3 billion per year to all agricultural production including forests.
 

To help fund the research needed to combat this deadly disease, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced $2.5 million in grants for research of high priority questions about WNS that will improve our ability to manage the disease and conserve affected bats.

Laurel wilt has devastated plants in the Lauraceae family – redbay, sassafras, pondberry, avocado, and others – since it was first detected in the southeastern U.S. around 2002. There is no widespread, effective treatment for laurel wilt. Genetics research is focused on learning more about the pathogen's genetic structure in order to improve detection methods and screening for possible resistance in Lauraceae host species. "We have developed genetic markers to describe the population of the pathogen in the U.S.," says USDA Forest Service plant pathologist Tyler Dreaden. "Knowing which genotypes to use contributes to a quicker, more cost-effective resistance screening process." Dreaden led a new study to shed light on the genetic structure of the pathogen and its reproductive strategy. The research team included Marc Hughes at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Randy Ploetz and Jason Smith at the University of Florida, and Adam Black, horticulture director of the Peckerwood Garden Conservation Foundation in Texas. Their findings were published in Forests.

For 21 consecutive years, researchers from the USDA Forest Service and partners at North Carolina State University have tracked the status and trends of forest health across the U.S.  Annual assessments of forest health are key to understanding whether year-to-year changes are part of longer-term trends.  Forests constantly change because of tree mortality and growth, weather events and climate trends, and disturbances from stressors including fire, insects, and diseases.

About 82% of the U.S. population lives in urban areas, and that number is growing. “Frequent travel to and from cities means that trees in urban areas have high rates of exposure to invasive species like the emerald ash borer,” says Frank Koch, a USDA Forest Service research ecologist and co-author of a study in the Journal of Applied Ecology about the impacts of invasive insects on urban trees.