Globally, Invasive Alien Species (IAS) are considered to be one of the major threats to native biodiversity, with the World Conservation Union (IUCN) citing their impacts as 'immense, insidious, and usually irreversible'. It is estimated that 11% of the c. 12,000 alien species in Europe are invasive, causing environmental, economic and social damage; and it is reasonable to expect that the rate of biological invasions into Europe will increase in the coming years. In order to assess the current position regarding IAS in Europe and to determine the issues that were deemed to be most important or critical regarding these damaging species, the international Freshwater Invasives -Networking for Strategy (FINS) conference was convened in Ireland in April 2013. Delegates from throughout Europe and invited speakers from around the world were brought together for the conference. These comprised academics, applied scientists, policy makers, politicians, practitioners and representative stakeholder groups. A horizon scanning and issue prioritization approach was used by in excess of 100 expert delegates in a workshop setting to elucidate the Top 20 IAS issues in Europe. These issues do not focus solely on freshwater habitats and taxa but relate also to marine and terrestrial situations. The Top 20 issues that resulted represent a tool for IAS management and should also be used to support policy makers as they prepare European IAS legislation.
This technical paper presents results from pilot field trials conducted on the novel use of a biodegradable jute material to eradicate the highly invasive aquatic macrophyte Lagarosiphon major Ridley from Lough Corrib, Ireland. The results demonstrate the ability of the jute material to comprehensively kill L. major and to restore native macrophyte communities to areas of the lake that were previously overgrown with this priority invasive species. To date, eight indigenous plant species (four charophytes and four angiosperms) have been recorded growing through the loose-weave jute fabric. However, no Lagarosiphon has been recorded as doing so. This material has the potential for broader application in the management of nuisance aquatic weeds and in the restoration of native flora extirpated by these alien species.
An investigation with acoustic telemetry of the passage of Salmo salar smolts through a large natural lake found heavy mortality occurred at the river-to-lake confluences (mean 31.2% km ), but was lower in the main body of the lake (mean 2.4% km ). Predation was a significant pressure on emigrating smolts as tagged pike Esox lucius aggregated at river-to-lake confluences during the peak of the smolt run. Tagged smolts mainly emmigrated into the lake in the late evening after dusk, possibly as a predator-avoidance behaviour.
The presence and abundance of non-indigenous, and/or harmful or toxic dinoflagellate species in ballast sediments is examined for 65 cargo ships visiting ports on the East coast of Canada, as part of the Canadian Aquatic Invasive Species Network (CAISN). Ships visiting several ports in the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were sampled during three summers (2007, 2008, 2009). These ships included general cargo, bulk carriers and oil tankers, and they represented two major categories: ships undergoing continental and trans-oceanic voyages. Our results show that potentially viable dinoflagellate cysts are present in ballast sediments of all the categories of ships arriving to the East coast of Canada. The concentrations of all types of dinoflagellate cysts are higher in continental ships without ballast water exchange (BWE) than in ships with BWE, including trans-oceanic ships, which presented lower risk of introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) of dinoflagellates. We identified 14 non-indigenous dinoflagellate cyst species not yet reported from Canadian coasts, including 4 potentially harmful/toxic species, representing a possibility of new introductions. These introductions of toxic NIS could represent a problem for marine Canadian ecosystems, with potentially disastrous effects on fish communities, aquaculture and human health. This potential risk may be facilitated with climate change.
The occurrence of non‐native pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha in multiple river systems in Ireland in 2017 was unprecedented and reflected similar concurrent events observed in other countries in the North Atlantic region. Thirty‐six fish were captured in a total of 11 river systems located in the south‐west, west and north‐west of Ireland in the period June to September 2017. The biological characteristics of sampled specimens are described and the potential for establishment in Ireland are considered.
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