It Takes a Village: Public Engagement in Invasive Species Detection, with Rebecca Epanchin-Niell

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Rebecca Epanchin-Niell, a senior fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF). Epanchin-Niell’s research focuses on ecosystem management—in particular, understanding how human behavior affects ecological resources and identifying strategies to improve ecosystem management. Much of her work has focused on invasive species, including strategies to control established invaders, improved monitoring, and cooperative management. Hayes and Epanchin-Niell discuss a new paper that Epanchin-Niell coauthored—with RFF colleagues Alexandra Thompson and Tyler Treakle—about public contributions to the early detection of new invasive pests, the critical role of citizens in identifying emerging threats from invasive species, and the quantification of public contributions to pest detection. References and recommendations: “Hidden Brain” podcast; https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain The Endangereds by Philippe Cousteau and Austin Aslan; https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/childrens-the-endangereds