%0 Conference Proceedings
%B 19th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation
%D 2012
%T A general spatially-explicit model to inform rapid response to new biological invasions: why do we need one and what should it look like?
%A Renton, M
%A Savage, D
%A Chopard, J
%X <p>New biological invasions can cause great damage to natural, agricultural and urban ecosystems, particularly if the invasive species is able to establish across an area that is too large and in numbers that are too great for eradication to be feasible. Important decisions need to be made about what management strategies should be carried out after the initial discovery and as the invasion unfolds. For example, should we attempt a costly eradication of this invasive species at all? If so, what level of resources should be allocated to this attempt, and how should they be allocated? These decisions need to be made quickly, decisively and transparently, despite the fact that only limited information about the invasive species is likely to be available. An efficient functional characterisation system can help extract and distil the most important information from all available expert knowledge, and a suitable model that captures the essential processes involved in the early stages of a new biological invasion can help synthesize this information to provide assistance in making quick, decisive and transparent decisions.</p>