Determining the factors that enable introduced species to proliferate and become invasive is a fundamental challenge to ecologists and evolutionary biologists worldwide. This award will create a research coordination network (RCN) with the goal of improving our synthetic understanding of biological invasions, particularly with respect to the interplay among mechanisms of biotic resistance, enemy release, adaptive evolution, and hybridization. This RCN will seek a predictive framework to better integrate these hypotheses for invasions, and to clarify their predictions. The network will sponsor annual round tables, coordinate diverse research projects, and develop teaching modules for high schools. It will also sponsor symposia at scientific meetings and research exchanges to promote student and postdoc training and link groups working on similar issues. Training of students will seek to increase diversity through special efforts to engage Native American and African American undergraduates in research, teaching and management. The network will also develop a geo-referenced website, and cultivate media liaisons to connect the public with science.
