Articles from VT News that highlight invasive species education, research, & engagement
Non-native salamanders threaten California tiger salamanders by interbreeding with them, putting the native species at risk of genetic extinction. Researchers at Virginia Tech have developed models showing that managing pond water levels and selectively removing hybrids can help protect the native salamander population.
Dr. Lindsay Miles joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about her research on bed bugs, focusing on genomic sequencing, the history of bed bug populations, and the implications of their mutations.
Students in Dr. Jacob Barney’s invasive species class get to eat what they study. They cook up creative dishes that include blue catfish, wild boar, chickweeds, bamboo, kudzu, autumn olive, and wineberries.
Each year, volunteers volunteer thousands of hours to science, stewardship, and education.
Working with multiple Indigenous communities and academic institutions, this collaborative project explores Indigenous perspectives on Bimiizii (sea lamprey), an invasive species introduced to the Great Lakes in the mid-1800s.
The boxwood is one of the most popular ornamental evergreen shrubs in the U.S. Known for low maintenance requirements and resistance to deer, these beloved ornamental plants are used in homeowners’ yards and landscaping across Virginia. Now, an invasive insect is threatening them.
A new study led by Virginia Tech found that volunteer dog-handler teams — made up of everyday people and their pets — can effectively detect the elusive egg masses of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect that’s damaging farms and forests across the eastern and central U.S.
Virginia Tech researchers, led by Dr. Scotty Yang in the Department of Entomology, have found a new way to determine if spotted lanternflies have invaded a new area by using ants.
Over the last year, the Invasive Species Collaborative has been busy supporting an invasive species cluster hire. The Collaborative is excited to announce that four out of seven positions have been filled.
A team led by two Virginia Tech researchers recently compared the whole genome sequence of two genetically distinct lineages of bed bugs. Their findings indicate the human-associated lineage followed a similar demographic pattern as humans and may well be the first true urban pest.
In late April, Dr. Aníbal Pauchard, a professor at the Faculty of Forestry Sciences at the University of Concepción in Chile and Director of the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, visited the Invasive Species Collaborative at Virginia Tech.
The Invasive Species Collaborative had an amazing time coordinating not one, but two events on April 25 and 26. The Collaborative also had the sincere pleasure of hosting Dr. Aníbal Pauchard, an international expert on biological invasions.