IAP-26-108

Scalable early warning and rapid response data systems for invasive species biosecurity

Invasive Alien Species are a major driver of biodiversity loss globally, with impacts across all sectors of society. Actions that focus on prevention, such as biosecurity practices, pathway management, contingency planning and rapid response, are more cost effective than ongoing management or wide scale eradication of established species. This is reflected in KM-GBF target 6 which requires parties to prevent establishment of priority species and 50% of other invasive species by 2050. Addressing this target requires robust prioritisation, tracking and response to new incursions of invasive non-native species. While global datasets such as GRIIS and GISD can help with establishing baseline data there is no best practise workflow to monitor pathways, track species establishment and detection of new species through time or document the management response to these species, all of which are critical to developing an indicator for target 6. Records of species occurrence and incursion may come from a variety of sources including surveys, monitoring, surveillance and citizen science, and will be variable depending on current practice and supporting governance and infrastructure. Currently bespoke solutions are being developed or maintained, but these can lack consistency and interoperability with other datasets or systems. As with other biodiversity data, invasive species data should adhere to the FAIR and OPEN data principles. Substantial improvements to invasive species management and information sharing could be made by increasing the accessibility and interoperability of incursion tracking and response systems and considering areas of improvement, for example linking these to existing global databases and / or through the use of AI and LLMs.
This project will investigate the barriers, challenges and needs across different knowledge systems in implementing effective biosecurity, incursion tracking and rapid response systems. We aim to understand how systems can be improved and how can local systems (e.g. for protected sites or other management units) be interoperable with national reporting systems where needs and priorities may differ.
The student will use a series of case studies to consider fundamental knowledge and process gaps to develop an effective and scalable workflow for reporting on biosecurity practises. The case studies will explore different scales and knowledge systems and will facilitate working with practitioners and decision makers to understand the use and limitations of current practise, resources and reporting requirements. This information will be used to co-design workflows to integrate data on biological invasions and to improve user access and ease of analysis and reporting. The overall aim is to develop a scalable workflow and reporting analytics to interrogate datasets and visualise trends for invasive species biosecurity, providing a model that can be replicated elsewhere. This will directly address the policy needs for addressing target 6 and mitigate the adverse impacts of invasive species and bending the curve on biodiversity loss.

Objectives:
1. Scope the invasive species biosecurity data requirements to report on KM-GBF target 6. Review how complete this is for case studies representing different spatial scales and knowledge systems
2. Design a scalable workflow to enable the creation and use of Fair and Open datasets and information using the full range of available data sources to support early detection of invasive species incursions and their management
3. Develop a user interface for data interrogation and a series of analytical modules to support T6 reporting (e.g. datasets for tracking and indicator) pathway quanitification, incursion tracking, horizon scanning and risk management feasibility

Initial research activity will focus on critically reviewing current practice, through structured questionnaires and interviews with practitioners and decision-makers. It is essential that this is done in a comprehensive manner as the gaps and challenges identified will inform the scoping of the data workflow. The student will spend dedicated time with each of the three case studies (suggested case studies provided with detials to be confirmed, these are likely to be a local action group in the UK (e.g. NE INNS partnership), the national GB process (GB NNSS, UKCEH and Defra) and a lower income state ( e.g. UK overseas territory). While the local and national case studies can be done with frequent face to face meetings the student will benefit from placements with colleagues at UKCEH, GB NNSS (APHA), a UK overseas territory to assess how the existing data platforms are being used. This is also essential to understand the specific challenges faced and how they could be managed in a new workflow.
We will also utilise the networks of researchers engaged in biosecurity and early warning systems through the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group and EU Horizon OneSTOP projects, for example, time could be spent with the Belgium IAS secretariat and data teams from the LIFE TRIAS project to explore their data platforms.
The student will become familiar with the GB Non-Native Species Information Portal (GB-NNSIP), maintained by the UKCEH, and while the information is available (webpage), the system lacks a front-end user access for data interrogation and querying, limiting its accessibility. The student will use the knowledge gained of the gaps and users needs to design a platform to improve GB-NNSIP data interoperability and accessibility. Using this as a template the student will investigate how this system can be scaled for use in other contexts, for example subnational where the species and priorities may differ and in areas where there are different knowledge systems and information flows (eg. UK Overseas Territories).
Horizon Scanning and Risk Management frameworks are effective processes to support biosecurity by maintaining lists of priority invasive species but such exercises happen infrequently and are not designed for routine tracking of new species or success of management actions. A key area of investigation will include how best to integrate prioritisation tools and analytics to allow the data to be used to inform decision making and prioritisation.

Year 1

In their first year the student will undertake a review of biosecurity data workflows globally. They will spend time at GBNNSS and UKCEH to familiarise with data, standards and challenges.
They will coordinate scoping workshops to determine needs and barriers- including UK Overseas Territories and North-East INNS partnership to inform the design and coding of prototype workflow and feedback sessions.

Key activities will include.
Months 1–6
• Induction and Iapetus cohort training and training needs assessment
• Literature review: IAS biosecurity approaches, Data needs for GBF Target 6
• Stakeholder mapping and engagement planning
• Selection of case studies (e.g. protected site management, regional and national systems)
Months 7–12
• Data scoping and gap analysis for GBF Target 6 reporting
• Workshops (including online) with key partners, with a focus on the case study areas.
• Initial assessment of existing datasets and workflows (e.g., GB-NNSIP, INNS Mapper)
• Skills training in GIS, data science (R/Python/Git)

Year 2

Integration of datasets into the workflow. Design and testing of user interface.

Months 13–18
• Co-design of scalable data workflows and user interfaces with stakeholders
• Integration of diverse data sources (citizen science, surveys, monitoring)
• Begin development of prototype data infrastructure
• Training in AI tools for data validation and pattern recognition
Months 19–24
• Testing and refinement of workflows
• Begin development of interoperability modules for local-national systems
• Mid-year progress review and presentation at Iapetus conference and GBNNSS stakeholder forum

Year 3

Integration of horizon scanning and risk management workshop tools and data analytics
R Package development.
Months 25–30
• Development of analytical modules:
o Horizon scanning
o Risk management feasibility
o Alert and tracking system for detections of new non-native species
o Indicator tracking for GBF Target 6
• Evaluation of workflow performance across case studies with stakeholders
Months 31–36
• Finalise analytical tools and reporting framework
• Prepare publications and policy briefs
• Present findings at national/international conferences
• Begin thesis writing

Year 3.5

Training and guidance materials

Months 37–42
• Complete thesis writing and submission
• Dissemination of findings to stakeholders and policy bodies (IUCN WCC/ UN biodiversity conferences)
• Career development and post-PhD planning

This project will require a systems thinker who has an organised and thorough approach to information management and a good understanding of invasion biology. The project requires the technical skills to design and develop a workflow and accessible data platform but also the ecological understanding of the biological records to ensure a workflow meets user needs. The researcher will have access to specific training in data standards and coding practices, through GBIF engagement and the Research Software Engineer team at Newcastle. Depending on the need further training in version control (Github) or coding languages (R Python) and practices (Data carpentries) and user interface (Shiny App) development are available.
Informal training will be achieved through placements with the case studies and practitioners and knowledge of invasive species, pathways and impacts will be developed during the research and the researcher can draw on the expertise of the supervisor team across data management, species knowledge and policy implementation. General skills in project management, information management, time management, written and oral communication as well as in presentations will also be developed over the course of the project