INVASIVE SPECIES: INVADING THE WEB

Christina De Jesús Villanueva1, Rafael Rivero1, Angel Rivera-Colón1, Yazmin Sostre Reyes2, Steven Van Belleghem1, Riccardo Papa1
1 University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras
2 University of Puerto Rico, Humacao

ABSTRACT STORIES
Social media has become a predominant platform to inform large masses of people in
short amounts of time. They have gone beyond their initial purpose of keeping friends
connected, to becoming an outlet for the dissemination of information. In a matter of
hours information can travel throughout the world. If a natural disaster strikes,
disaster relief information becomes readily available. Similarly, educational material is
condensed into small clusters and is shared by thousands of people. In this project,
we use social media platforms, mainly Facebook, Twitter and WordPress, to provide
information on invasive species. Invasive species pose a major conservation concern;
they are regarded as the second (to habitat loss) largest threat to biodiversity. By
providing information about the problems associated with these species, our goal is to
increase awareness and advocate for their prevention. We present a subset of the
information found on our websites, together with the extent of the audience reached.
We focus on number of user demographics and expose the content that has been
most successful in gaining attention. We expect to contribute to a growing body of
scientific social media sites aimed at conservation.

WHAT ARE INVASIVES? Our most popular stories higlight personal experiences with invasive species. In
an effort to broaden our reach we post in English and Spanish. We are currently
seeking contributors that can add a language.
(and why would I care?)

Invasive species typically refer to introduced species that cause negative impacts
on the environment, human activities, or human health. E.U Lee (2002)
SHARE YOUR STORY
Spreading We welcome you to share your story or write a short post about an invasive
species that you care about.
disease Expensive to
manage
Threats to
biodiversity “The fruit or the
Example From Pimentel et al. (2005): There are an estimated 63 million
pet cats in the US, plus as many as 30 million feral cats. Cats prey on native
saguaro cactus
birds plus small native mammals, amphibians, and reptiles. Estimates are
that feral cats in Wisconsin and Virginia kill more than 3 million birds in
are important to
each state per year. The total damage to U.S. bird population is
approximately $17 billion/year.
our Culture”
-Ulrick Francisco
BLOG - GLOBAL AUDIENCE
Ulrick Francisco of the Tohono O’odham Tribe in Arizona talked to us about
Invasive Buffel grass and its relationship to native Saguaro Cactus at LSAMP
Countries reached
include France, The symposium 2016. The affected cactus is important to the people in his tribe to
Phillipines and Peru. celebrate the beginning of the growing season and rain dance ceremonies.

Check us out!

@invasivespp
invasivespp.wordpress.com
www.facebook.com/invasive.spp

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Funding was provided by the UPRRP Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship Cohort IX, NSF Grant Award HRD1139888.

To Ulrick Francisco of Tohono O’odham Community College, for his gracious interview.

Literature Cited
Pimentel, D., Zuniga, R., & Morrison, D. (2005). Update on the environmental and economic costs associated with
Crested anole (Anolis cristatellus) doing pushups. Note alien-invasive species in the United States. Ecological economics, 52(3), 273-288. Chicago
the Green iguana marks on the bark of the tree. Lee, C. E. (2002). Evolutionary genetics of invasive species. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 17(8), 386-391.