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Ullrika Sahlin, PhD student
Research interests
I direct my research to extreme events associated with introduction of
alien species and populations. I am also interested in the development
and testing of methods for risk analysis of alien species.
A risk
is a possible event with undesired consequences, and risk analysis the
methodology to identify such hazardous events, their possible
consequences, and estimate the likelihood for them to occur. Biological
invasions is a growing conservation issue that needs methods of improved
risk analysis.
A keyword in risk analysis is uncertainty.
Uncertainty can be caused by incomplete information or be associated
with reality – variability in the system. Biological invasions give rise
to uncertain risks, i.e. even if we had all information the outcome of
an invasion is highly uncertain. We also lack knowledge of determinates
of successful invasions, and the developing theoretical framework of the
steps in an invasion process, help us to analyze risks on a large scale,
while risks associated to the outcome of a specific invasion requires
another type of assessment based on expert believes considering the
unique combination of species, recipient region and community and timing.
My
background with a master in both Probability theory and Forestry is
useful as my work is an intersection of mathematics and ecology. I
observe the world with my probability goggles when I try to solve the
ecological questions, and discover new problems in the field of risk
analysis when dealing with the problems associated with biological
invasions. Risk analysis is the cross disciplinary research field that
really tempter my eager to implement logic, structured thinking in a
varying and incompletely described world, where human interests and
actions are a major factor of change.
Last modified 14 Dec 2011
Department of Ecology, Lund University
Ecology Building
SE-22362
Lund
tel: +46-2221783
fax: +46 46-2224716
Email:
Ullrika.Sahlin-at-ekol.lu.se
Supervisors Göran Bengtsson & Henrik Smith