The development of early monitoring tools to detect aquatic invasive species: eDNA assay development and the case of the armored catfish Hypostomus robinii

Aquatic Invasive species (AIS) are a growing driver of change across marine and freshwater ecosystems but spatially-explicit information is seldom available for supporting management actions and decision making. Here we conceived and tested a new participatory method to map the distribution of three invasive species (Callinectes sapidus, Procambarus clarkii and Oreochromis niloticus) in the coastal lagoon of Lesina (Italy). Local fishers were asked to draw the distribution of each species on pre-printed maps, indicating districts of the lagoon characterized by different abundance levels. Then, maps were converted to a lattice grid and a Bayesian hierarchical Generalized Additive Modeling was adopted to model species distribution in the lagoon, calculating the coefficient of variation for model fitted values to map fishers agreement about the distribution of each species.The spatial gradient in the abundance of the three species in the lagoon aligned with their ecological requirements. C. sapidus was abundant throughout the whole lagoon, peaking in correspondence of saltmarsh vegetation, while P. clarkii and O. niloticus, were much less abundant and remained distributed near to freshwater inputs. Experts agreed about the spatial distribution of C. sapidus in the lagoon, with a median coefficient of variation in model fitted values of 3.9%. On the other hand, the coefficient of variation was higher for P.clarkii (19.9%) O. niloticus (18.4%), indicating a higher level of uncertainty about their estimated distribution.With this example, we provided new metrics to evaluate the quality of LEK-based participatory mapping in terms of agreement and consistency among experts. The resulting information provides new insights for spatially informed management across aquatic realms in relation to the increasing ecological and socio-economical pressures posed by biological invaders.

Download Full-text

A framework for aquatic invasive species surveillance site selection and prioritization in the US waters of the Laurentian Great Lakes

Management of Biological Invasions ◽

10.3391/mbi.2020.11.3.17 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 607-632

Author(s):

Andrew Tucker ◽

Lindsay Chadderton ◽

Gust Annis ◽

Alisha Davidson ◽

Joel Hoffman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Great Lakes ◽

Site Selection ◽

Aquatic Invasive Species ◽

Laurentian Great Lakes ◽

Surveillance Site ◽

The Us

Download Full-text

Examining the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species, Bythothephes longimanus, In Inland Lakes Across Ontario

10.32920/ryerson.14654484 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Joseph Arambulo

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Spatial Autocorrelation ◽

Aquatic Invasive Species ◽

Water Flea ◽

Moran's I ◽

Secondary Spread ◽

Independent Variables ◽

Inland Lakes ◽

Mean Temperature ◽

Global Moran’S I

The purpose of this study is to is to examine the secondary spread of Bythothephes longimanus, commonly known as spiny water flea, across inland lakes in Ontario, and potentially determine predictors for the its invasion. Data for 190 inland lakes across 84 quaternary watersheds in Ontario were included in the database. Global Moran's I was used to analyze the spatial autocorrelation of the variables, and McFadden's Rho-Squared was used to determine if a variable was a predictor of invasion. Three independent variables, out of 28, were found to be good predictors of invasion: (1) mean temperature of watersheds during summer (MNTMPWSSU), (2) mean precipitation for watersheds during spring (MNPCPWSSP), and (3) mean precipitation for watersheds during summer (MNPCPWSSU). Of the three, mean precipitation for watersheds during summer was determined to be the best predictor.

Download Full-text

What’s for Dinner? Assessing the Value of an Edible Invasive Species and Outreach Actions to Promote Its Consumption

10.21203/rs.3.rs-200905/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Inês Cerveira ◽

Vânia Baptista ◽

Maria Alexandra Teodósio ◽

Pedro Morais

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Native Species ◽

Aquatic Invasive Species ◽

Native Range ◽

Invasive Fish ◽

Press Releases ◽

Cynoscion Regalis ◽

The Public ◽

Native Resources ◽

A New Species

Abstract Promoting the consumption of edible aquatic invasive species has gained popularity to minimize its impacts while easing pressure on native resources. Weakfish Cynoscion regalis (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) is one of the most recent invasive fish species in the Iberian Peninsula (Europe) which once sustained an important fishery in the native range (Northwest Atlantic Ocean). Portugal ranks third in the list of the world’s top fish consumers, so promoting a weakfish fishery could at least help minimize the impacts upon native species, since weakfish have innate traits that are likely appreciated by Portuguese fish consumers. However, introducing a new species to consumers is challenging owing to consumers’ habits and unfamiliarity with the species. So, we aimed to (i) evaluate the acceptance of weakfish by a panel of Portuguese fish consumers and (ii) create outreach actions – partnerships with local Chefs and press releases – to explain to a broader public what invasive species are and promote the consumption of edible aquatic invasive species. The survey that we conducted to Portuguese fish consumers showed that weakfish has great chances of being well accepted by the public – 90% of consumers would buy weakfish because they appreciated its appearance, flavour, and texture, besides being a wild fish. The outreach actions reached a few million people because 46 online articles were published, and three news pieces broadcasted on national television. Overall, our strategy greatly increased the public’s awareness about invasive species, which can be replicated elsewhere in the world.

Download Full-text