Innovations in Invasive Species Management Conference and Training

Outstanding Speakers from Around the World

Dr. Tanja Strive, Principal Research Scientist with CSIRO Health & Biosecurity will discuss the Biological control of rabbits in Australia – 70 years of landscape-scale management of a vertebrate pest.

Iain D Paterson, Associate Professor, Centre for Biological Control, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa.  Mr Paterson will be sharing his experience with  “Biological control of weeds: opportunities to control invasive alien plants through North American-African collaborations”  The aims of WfW were to protect ecosystem services, such as water resources and rangeland productivity; protect indigenous biodiversity; and create employment for disadvantaged and impoverished people.

Professor Dan Tompkins, Science Director- Predator Free 2050 Limited, will share Predator Free 2050 – progress to date and future strategy” 

Dr. Giovanni Polverino, Research Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Research Fellow, Dept. of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy; and Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia will talk about “The value of bioinspired robots to reveal the evolutionary and ecological vulnerabilities of invasive animal species”.

Brief biography

My expertise lies in behavioural ecology, evolutionary biology, and ethorobotics (using bioinspired robots to study animal behaviour). I gained my PhD in life sciences from the Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany) for my advances on the causes and consequences of behavioural diversity/plasticity in animals, especially highly invasive species. I have worked in Italy, the US, Germany, and Australia, and most of my results have appeared in high-impact international journals and have been reported widely in the popular press. My most significant contributions to behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology have leveraged my expertise in these fields and, by collaboration, the use of bioinspired robots to uncover causes and consequences of behavioural variation in fishes.

Fishes and robots
I designed the biological components of bioinspired robots to mimic specific characteristics of fishes, enter their social groups, and interact with live fishes in real time, offering a precise, customizable, and consistent approach to study animal behaviour that cannot be emulated with traditional methods. I have achieved proof of concept for the first bioinspired robot that selectively repels invasive mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) and simultaneously attracts a non-invasive fish species, providing unambiguous evidence that robots can be designed to induce diverse reactions across species. I recently led an international team of biologists and engineers to use for the first time a biologically inspired robot for unravelling the ecological and evolutionary vulnerabilities of mosquitofish—impairing health, reproduction, and ecological success of the pest. Our multidisciplinary approach offers conceptual and technical advances that fill critical gaps in experimental biology and ethorobotics, opens the door to new opportunities for targeted experimental analyses at a larger scale, and provides the scientific foundations for informing and refining biocontrol practices.

Effects of environmental changes on cryptic insects
My lab has recently welcomed an Australian-native stick insect (Onchestus rentzi) as a new model system, to study the interplay between predation risk, camouflage, defensive behaviour, and life history in invertebrates. Our research aims to test whether changes in the environment, that cause individuals to be less matched to the colouration of their background, are also likely to alter the behavioural repertoire of these animals. I will talk about how changes in perceived vulnerability can alter the phenotypes of these cryptic insects via behavioural plasticity, whereby surviving strategies depend on the level of background-body colouration mismatch.

Agenda

Final Agenda

Program

Directions and Additional Information

Hotel Information

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center

Room Reservations

REGISTRATION

Registration Now Available

Thanks for considering registering for the 2022 Innovations in Invasive Species Management Conference in Nashville, TN.

EXHIBITOR OPPORTUNITIES

Read below for exhibit options.

All Table, Nonprofit and Booth Exhibitors will receive the following benefits:

• Logo placement on the conference website
• Name and logo displayed in conference program
• Exhibit booth or display table space
• One full conference registration
• Logo placement on the conference website

Booth Exhibitor: $1,250

• A draped, 10’ x 10’ exhibit area, with one clothed and draped 8’ table
• A second full complimentary registration

Table Exhibitor: $900

• One clothed and draped 8’ table plus 2 chairs

Nonprofit Exhibitor: $400

• Same benefits as regular Table Exhibitor

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

All Annual Meeting Sponsors receive the following benefits:

• Logo placement on conference announcements, publications and website with a link to your website
• Logo displayed in the conference program
• Logo displayed on prominent signage at the event
• Exhibit booth space
• Sponsor ribbons on name badges to recognize your company’s contribution

Additional benefits per tiered sponsor level include:

Concurrent Session Sponsor: $1,750

• Receive 2 complimentary full conference registrations
• Your company will be recognized as a sponsor of a concurrent session
• Your company logo will appear on signage outside the session room

Break Sponsors: $3,000

• Receive 4 complimentary full conference registrations
• Your company will sponsor a morning or afternoon break during which all attendees will see your logo prominently displayed at the refreshment area
• Quarter-page ad in conference program

Lunch Reception Sponsor: $6,000

• Receive 6 complimentary full conference registrations
• Your company will sponsor the one of the Exhibitor Lunch Receptions
• All attendees will see your company name in several locations during lunch
• Half-page ad in conference program

Evening Reception Sponsor: $6,000

• Receive 8 complimentary full conference registrations
• Your company will sponsor the Thursday evening Dinner
• All attendees will recognize your company name in several locations around the buffet area; speaking opportunity at the general session
• Full page ad in the conference program

Additional or partial sponsorship opportunities are available such as sponsoring the tour, a break, special session, reception, or other marketing opportunity. 

For more information please contact Steven Manning at 615-969-1309 or invasives@icloud.com

Partners