Regulatory Pest Informatics

Sea containers arriving at U.S. ports are major pathways through which exotic pests may enter the United States. Source: CC license Pexels

A major pathway for the introduction of exotic invasive pests that impact U.S. agriculture and natural resources is through international trade of agricultural commodities and planting materials. Multiple projects within CIPM aims for stopping pests at borders to safeguard U.S. agriculture and natural resources while facilitating international trade in line with the mission and vision of the regulatory branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This focus area includes knowledge assimilation and analyses of pest biology, geographical distribution, host range, epidemiology and ecology; development of surveillance methods, identification and diagnosis; and modeling for pest prioritization, introduction, spread, establishment and economic impact.