Seminar: Indirect Targeting of Invasive Species in Food Web Dynamics

Student: Mason Rock

Supervisor: Dr. Sean Cornelius

Abstract

An invasive species can decimate an ecosystem, yet introducing one to a new habitat is much easier than subsequently removing them. Direct approaches to combat invasive species – such as hunting, trapping, and targeted poisoning are generally infeasible or ineffective at removing them in real ecosystems. Food webs are networked systems however, raising the possibility that an invasive species could be modulated indirectly – that is, via perturbations on other nodes. Here, show that the extinction of an invasive species can in general be achieved through indirect interventions on food web dynamics. Specifically, we show that perturbing native species can effectively place the dynamics of a food web into a basin of attraction in which the native populations are preserved while the invasive species become extinct. This work proposes a tangible approach to combating invasive species in ecosystems, as well as raises interesting questions about basins of attraction -- such as their size, and accessibility.