The Center for Invasive Species Research Mission
The Center for Invasive Species Research (CISR) is based on the University of California Riverside Campus, providing a forward-looking approach to managing exotic pests and disease invasions in California. The long-term goal of CISR is to develop a systematic methodology for dealing with such exotic pests.
CISR will relate to the economic, ecological, and sociological effects of exotic pest introductions on the well being of California, primarily through cooperation and coordination of research efforts, UC campuses, USDA, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), conservation organizations, and the agricultural industry.
On The Fly
The spirited search for an insect that could save your syrah.
When describing Mark Hoddle, it’s easy to think of him as the Indiana Jones of the entomology world.
And it’s not just because of his shirt.
This summer, he led a team of UC Riverside researchers on a 600-mile journey to Southern Arizona, where the group trekked 5,500 feet above sea level to a remote “sky island” to find an elusive insect that almost no one has studied.
Why go all that way to look for a tiny bug? Because it could be the key to controlling a looming threat to much of California’s agriculture — including its wine, nuts, and avocados.
Why are invasive species a problem?
Invasive species cause a wide diversity of economic and environmental problems which almost always arise from uncontrolled population growth and spread in the area which has been invaded. Economic problems arise from the costs required to control invasive species, to reduce their rate of spread, or the need to inspect agricultural products that are being exported that may accidentally move the invasive pest to a new area.
