WRS Masters Defense

Effectiveness and Costs of Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Techniques

Efforts to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been widely implemented on local and regional scales to mitigate the economic and environmental harm associated with these organisms. Watercraft inspection and decontamination, along with boater education and outreach, are popular prevention strategies; however, few studies have investigated the effectiveness and costs of these approaches. We fill these knowledge gaps to inform management decision-making by providing more nuanced information about watercraft inspection effectiveness and by using program cost data to estimate prevention benefits for specific monetary investments. The effectiveness of AIS prevention strategies was estimated during experimentally controlled boat inspections where we evaluated boaters and watercraft inspectors abilities to remove items from a boat that we realistically staged with AIS. Costs of all evaluated prevention strategies were determined during interviews with County AIS program managers. Results show that prevention cost-effectiveness is variable and dependent upon a number of factors including environmental variation, regional differences in human perceptions, and the physical appearances and life histories of different AIS. While each prevention strategy has its own opportunities and obstacles, each retains a role in prevention planning. Ultimately these data have been incorporated into an online decision support application called “Intervention Impact” on the AIS Explorer dashboard (www.aisexplorer.umn.edu). This tool will give managers the ability to compare and contrast their prevention options in light of their prevention goals, budget, and variation across the landscape to limit new AIS infestations