Flow of Life in the Atmosphere: An Airscape Approach to Understanding Invasive Organisms

As we enter the twenty-first century the ultimate objective of environmental management programs should be to manipulate ecosystems so that they fulfill the needs of humans and at the same time maintain their integrity. In this new ground-breaking work, Isard and Gage look at the importance of anticipating consequences of the aerial flow of biota as new strategies to understand and manage our environment. A sound understanding of the biological and meteorological interactions that govern the movement of organisms in the atmosphere is a prerequisite to the development of successful management strategies for terrestrial ecosystems. Inflows and outflows of organisms to and from habitats can be as important as birth and death rates in regulating the dynamics of populations.

Isard and Gage focus on predicting events that destabilize relationships among organisms and between populations and their environment. This preventative management strategy is based on the premise that the ability to understand the predict dynamics of populations in an ecosystem allows for optimal and integrative use of a wide variety of methods to enhance human resource productions and to reduce harmful impacts of diseases and organisms on humans.