A new approach to horizon-scanning: identifying potentially invasive alien species and their introduction pathways

Abstract Introduction pathways play a pivotal role in the success of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) – the subset of alien species that have a negative environmental and/or socio-economic impact. Pathways refer to the fundamental mechanism that leads to the introduction of a species outside of its native range – marking the beginning of all alien species invasions. Increased knowledge of pathways is essential to help reduce the flow and impacts of IAS and ultimately improve their management. Here we use the InvaCost database, a comprehensive repository on the global monetary impacts of invasive alien species, combined with the CBD hierarchical classification of introduction pathways to address four key questions: (i) Are particular IAS introduction pathways economically impactful? (ii) How are costs taxonomically and spatially distributed across pathways? (iii) Are there differences in costs between species introduced intentionally and unintentionally? and (iv) is there a relationship between the number of possible introduction pathways of IAS and their costs? We found first that both the total and average cost of species introduced through ‘Stowaways’ (US$144.9bn; US$89.4m) and ‘Contaminants’ pathways (US$99.3bn; US$158.0m) were more costly than species introduced primarily through ‘Escape’ (US$87.4bn; US$25.4m) and ‘Release’ (US$64.2bn; US$16.4m). Second, insects drove the costs of unintentional introductions whilst mammals drove the costs of intentional introductions; ‘Stowaways’ had the highest costs in Asia, Central America, North America and Diverse/Unspecified regions, whilst Antarctic-Subantarctic and Oceania incurred the greatest costs from species introduced through ‘Release’. Third, the cost of species introduced unintentionally is more than double the cost of species introduced intentionally ($192bn vs. $90bn). Equally, species introduced unintentionally cost more on average than species introduced intentionally in terms of damage, management, and mixed costs. Finally, the total and average cost of IAS was not related to their number of introduction pathways. Our findings provide important material for the targeting of priority pathways - something that will be critical in prioritising limited management budgets to combat the current acceleration of species invasions.

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A framework for prioritising present and potentially invasive mammal species for a national list

NeoBiota ◽

10.3897/neobiota.62.52934 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 62 ◽

pp. 31-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sandro Bertolino ◽

Leonardo Ancillotto ◽

Paola Bartolommei ◽

Giulia Benassi ◽

Dario Capizzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alien Species ◽

Invasive Alien Species ◽

National Level ◽

The European Union ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Scanning Procedure ◽

Horizon Scanning ◽

Species Management ◽

The Eu

The European Union (EU) has recently adopted a regulation on invasive alien species that foresees the possibility of developing lists of species of National Concern. We developed a prioritisation process for alien mammals already established in Italy, but not yet included in the EU list (n = 6 species) and a systematic horizon-scanning procedure to obtain ranked lists for those species that are already introduced worldwide or traded in Italy (n = 213). Experts were asked to score these species, by evaluating their likelihood of establishment and spread and the magnitude of their potential impacts on biodiversity, economy, human-health and society. The manageability of each species was also evaluated, both for the proritisation and the horizon-scanning processes. We produced five lists that ranked species according to their potential spread and impacts and their manageability. These will allow policy-makers to select outputs according to a balance between risk assessment and risk management, establishing priorities for alien species management at the national level.

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Assessing the vulnerability of Dutch water bodies to exotic species: A new methodology

Current Zoology ◽

10.1093/czoolo/57.6.863 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 57 (6) ◽

pp. 863-873 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R.J. Leewis ◽

A. Gittenberger

Keyword(s):

Alien Species ◽

Exotic Species ◽

Invasive Alien Species ◽

Water Bodies ◽

The European Union ◽

New Approach ◽

Water Types ◽

European Water ◽

Geographical Maps ◽

Invasive Exotic

Abstract Invasive exotic (alien) species have not been taken into enough consideration concerning the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) and other European directives until recently. The Dutch ministry responsible for water management is looking for ways to establish the impacts that invasive alien species may have on specified water types. This paper concentrates on the vulnerability of such water types to the introduction of exotic species. This new approach focusses on the system where the alien species are introduced into rather than only on the alien species themselves. We propose an equation that combines threats to and in water types with effects of particular species (observed or prognosticated). Numerical values used in the formula have been found by scoring a number of properties in different water types and species, which are specified in questionnaires. The results of the calculations are given as relative vulnerability scores (scale 1–10). By testing as many as 8 water types and 13 species, we demonstrate that this method is flexible and easy to use for water managers. Our results can be translated into classes of vulnerability, which are represented on geographical maps with colour codes to indicate different degrees of vulnerability in the different water bodies. This readily corresponds to the way countries are required to report to the European Union in the context of the WFD. The method can also be generalized using functional groups of (exotic) species instead of particular species.

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Horizon scanning for invasive alien species with the potential to threaten biodiversity and human health on a Mediterranean island

Biological Invasions ◽

10.1007/s10530-019-01961-7 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (6) ◽

pp. 2107-2125 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Jodey Peyton ◽

Angeliki F. Martinou ◽

Oliver L. Pescott ◽

Monica Demetriou ◽

Tim Adriaens ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alien Species ◽

Human Health ◽

Invasive Alien Species ◽

Horizon Scanning ◽

Mediterranean Island

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Setting-up a billboard of marine invasive species in the ESENIAS area

Acta Adriatica ◽

10.32582/aa.58.3.4 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 58 (3) ◽

pp. 429-457 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Paraskevi K. Karachle ◽

Argyro Zenetos ◽

Irfan Uysal ◽

Victor Surugiu ◽

Kremena Stefanova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Alien Species ◽

Invasive Alien Species ◽

Warning System ◽

Management Measures ◽

Horizon Scanning ◽

Marine Invasive Species ◽

Established Species ◽

Ship Ballast Water ◽

Of Greece

In this study we present a list of invasive/potential invasive alien species in the East and South European Network for Invasive Alien Species (ESENIAS) countries with marine borders. The species were classified according to the existing literature and experts’ judgment, as established, casual, invasive and expected. Finally, factsheets were compiled for ten species of high importance based on their expanding/invading character. Of the 160 species comprising the list, 149 were already present in the ESENIAS countries, while eleven were invasive species either present in the Mediterranean or in other European Seas, likely to be recorded in the ESENIAS countries. The majority of the species were of Red Sea/IndoPacific origin (97 species; 60.6%). Italy, Turkey and Greece were the countries with the highest representation of species (159, 152 and 139 species respectively), due to their extended coastline and the number of scholars working on marine invasive species. The highest number of established species was recorded in Turkey (116 species), whereas in Italy and Greece the most numerous species were the “expected” ones (85 and 48 species, respectively). The eastern Adriatic Sea countries (i.e. Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia) had generally low numbers of species in this list, many of which are still “expected” to arrive from the neighbouring countries of Greece and Italy. Finally, the most frequently potential pathway was transfer stowaways (ship ballast water: 41 cases; ship hull fouling: 55), whereas unaided spread of Lessepsian immigrants followed (95 cases). This list is intended to serve as an early warning system that through horizon scanning process would assist ESENIAS countries to prioritise invasive alien species, their pathways and the areas of higher likelihood to appear, in order to take management measures.

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Early warning systems in biosecurity; translating risk into action in predictive systems for invasive alien species

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20200056 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (5) ◽

pp. 453-462 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

James Rainford ◽

Andrew Crowe ◽

Glyn Jones ◽

Femke van den Berg

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Alien Species ◽

Early Warning ◽

Invasive Alien Species ◽

Early Warning Systems ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Working Environment ◽

Digital Data ◽

Warning Systems ◽

Horizon Scanning

Invasive alien species (IAS) are one of the most severe threats to biodiversity and are the subject of varying degrees of surveillance activity. Predictive early warning systems (EWS), incorporating automated surveillance of relevant dataflows, warning generation and dissemination to decision makers are a key target for developing effective management around IAS, alongside more conventional early detection and horizon scanning technologies. Sophisticated modelling frameworks including the definition of the ‘risky’ species pool, and pathway analysis at the macro and micro-scale are increasingly available to support decision making and to help prioritise risks from different regions and/or taxa. The main challenges in constructing such frameworks, to be applied to border inspections, are (i) the lack of standardisation and integration of the associated complex digital data environments and (ii) effective integration into the decision making process, ensuring that risk information is disseminated in an actionable way to frontline surveillance staff and other decision makers. To truly achieve early warning in biosecurity requires close collaboration between developers and end-users to ensure that generated warnings are duly considered by decision makers, reflect best practice, scientific understanding and the working environment facing frontline actors. Progress towards this goal will rely on openness and mutual understanding of the role of EWS in IAS risk management, as much as on developments in the underlying technologies for surveillance and modelling procedures.

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