Invasive Species

UHERO has a long history of research examining the economics and management of invasive species, including work on the economic impacts of coqui frogs in Hawai‘i, optimal control of miconia over space and time on O‘ahu, spatial economic analysis of early detection and rapid response for a potential invader to Hawai‘i like the brown tree snake, and assessment of policies designed to prevent the arrival of an invasive species like ‘ohia rust. The most recent work in this area aimed to improve our understanding of the life-history traits of miconia using past spatial management data in the East Maui Watershed and evaluate a range of protection strategies. These research efforts also overlap with work being done in the areas of ecosystem services, mountain-to-sea resource management, and value of watershed conservation, as the economic value of watershed management efforts are often valued in terms of the hydrologic ecosystem services they protect, which would otherwise be lost or impaired in the absence of invasive species control.