Evolutionary tools to solve environmental problems

Novel pathogens, pests, and plants are introduced to California every day through the global movement of people and goods from around the world.  Most of these organisms are unable to thrive and are never noticed, but a small number become invasive weeds or cause destructive diseases or pest outbreaks.  How can we quickly identify which ones should we worry about, and which are unlikely to cause serious problems in California agriculture, forests, and grasslands?  A combination of studies of plant diseases in a Panama rainforest, analysis of USDA databases, and experiments in the UC Santa Cruz Great Meadow have helped to develop and test an online tool based on the evolutionary relationships among plant to help evaluate the risk from particular novel organisms when there is not time to do experimental studies.  This approach taps the knowledge we get from understanding evolutionary processes and patterns to help understand current ecological processes and develop tools to solve environmental problems.

Speaker: Dr. Greg Gilbert, UC Santa Cruz