image: The future: informed policymaking. Sarasota County’s regional government in Florida has a problem. Pythons (first documented in 2001 in the Everglades after pets were carelessly released into the wild) are rapidly moving northward. Using the NEON database on invasive species and specifically targeting subtropical watersheds, county officials execute a risk analysis and estimate costs for controlling this new invasive species over the next two decades. This image accompanied the Education Forum, "A National Ecological Network for Research and Education," by M. Lowman et. al. appearing in the Feb. 27, 2009, issue of Science. view more
Credit: Image copyright Science/AAAS