Invasive species and climate change are two of the most prominent forms of anthropogenic global change identified by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. These two global changes are likely to interact in a number of ways. Climate change could increase invasion risk by increasing growth rates, advancing phenology, and increasing weather-related disturbances. This seminar will review how climate change influences invasive species and how those changes might affect invasive species management.
Bethany Bradley is an Associate Professor of biogeography and spatial ecology in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is interested in how the geographical locations of species across landscapes and regions can inform ecological understanding of species distributions, invasion risk assessments, and conservation planning. Her research has a strong focus on terrestrial plant invasions, with a goal of understanding how invasion risk varies spatially in the context of anthropogenic disturbance and climate change.