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Alex Latzka

University of Wisconsin
118 Center for Limnology
680 North Park Street
Madison, WI 53706
latzka@wisc.edu
(608) 262-3087

Research Projects

Bioeconomics of Aquatic Invasive Species (CNHS)

Invasive species are often a major threat to native species and biodiversity, and consequently to the social value of ecosystems. In the absence of good modeling of the economics and ecology of human-caused species dispersal, identifying management policies that best serve social objectives with respect to the control and prevention of the spread of invasive species is unlikely if not impossible. This project develops an integrated economic and ecological model to examine the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) in a freshwater lake system where recreational boaters are the principle vector of dispersal. The model is applied to an investigation of a large lake system in northern Wisconsin.

Aquatic Invasive Species in the NHLD

An important aspect of aquatic invasive species (AIS) management is the role humans play in their dispersal. For the spread of AIS among inland lakes, the typical pathway for dispersal is boaters moving from lake to lake. We aim to develop a spatial dynamic model of species invasions within a freshwater lake system in which a set of managing agents is concerned with the inter-seasonal spread of invasive species across lakes (where a season is defined in this case as the annual boating season), and recreational boaters/anglers make a series of intra-seasonal trip decisions to maximize random utility during the course of the season, subject to the actions taken by the manager.

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