E‐commerce trade in invasive plants

Abstract

Biological invasions are a major concern in conservation, especially because global transport of species is still increasing rapidly. Conservationists hope to anticipate and thus prevent future invasions by identifying and regulating potentially invasive species through species risk assessments and international trade regulations. Among many introduction pathways of non-native species, horticulture is a particularly important driver of plant invasions. In recent decades, the horticultural industry expanded globally and changed structurally through the emergence of new distribution channels, including internet trade (e-commerce). Using an automated search algorithm, we surveyed, on a daily basis, e-commerce trade on 10 major online auction sites (including eBay) of approximately three-fifths of the world's spermatophyte flora. Many recognized invasive plant species (>500 species) (i.e., species associated with ecological or socio-economic problems) were traded daily worldwide on the internet. A markedly higher proportion of invasive than non-invasive species were available online. Typically, for a particular plant family, 30-80% of recognized invasive species were detected on an auction site, but only a few percentages of all species in the plant family were detected on a site. Families that were more traded had a higher proportion of invasive species than families that were less traded. For woody species, there was a significant positive relationship between the number of regions where a species was sold and the number of regions where it was invasive. Our results indicate that biosecurity is not effectively regulating online plant trade. In the future, automated monitoring of e-commerce may help prevent the spread of invasive species, provide information on emerging trade connectivity across national borders, and be used in horizon scanning exercises for early detection of new species and their geographic source areas in international trade.

The progress of interdisciplinarity in invasion science

“…Rotherham and Lambert 2011;Frawley and McCalman 2014). The recent interest of social scientists in invasions appears to be largely focused on three subjects: (1) the role of the human influence on the invasion process (McNeely 2001;Rotherham and Lambert 2011;Humair et al 2015) with 44.0% (out of 283) of the records from our dataset conceptualising human activities as drivers of the invasion process (S ? I ; Fig.…”

“…Increasing globalisation has promoted the establishment and expansion of non-native species across the world (Hulme 2009;Humair et al 2015). Many introduced species are useful in new geographic areas, e.g.…”

Troubling travellers: are ecologically harmful alien species associated with particular introduction pathways?

“…A modified version of this general framework has recently been adopted by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD 2014). Some pathways are increasingly well studied, such as horticulture and forestry as a source for plant invasions (Mack and Erneberg 2002, Dehnen-Schmutz et al 2007a, b, Hanspach et al 2008, Dawson et al 2009, Pyšek et al 2009, Smith et al 2015, Pergl et al 2016a, ballast water transport and aquaculture disseminating aquatic invaders (Galil et al 2009, Mizrahi et al 2015, live plants and plant products introducing pest insects and plant diseases (Roques 2010, Bacon et al 2012, Liebhold et al 2012, Eschen et al 2015a, as well as snails (Bergey et al 2014) and spiders (Nentwig 2015), the aquarium trade (MacedaVeiga et al 2013, Chucholl 2013, tourism (Anderson et al 2015), the pet trade for terrestrial vertebrate invaders (Duncan et al 2003, van Wilgen et al 2010, GarciaDiaz and Cassey 2014, and -more generally -the online trade (Kikillus et al 2012, Humair et al 2015. However, the role of pathways related to unintentional introductions has been difficult to quantify (Lee and Chown 2009, Pyšek et al 2011, Bacon et al 2012.…”

Aliens on the Move: Transportation Networks and Non-native Species

“…For instance, the American mink (Neovison vison) has invaded many European countries due to accidental escape or deliberate release from fur farms (Vidal-Figueroa and Delibes 1987;Bonesi and Palazon 2007). It is worrisome that a great number of problematic invaders is still actively marketed today, including freshwater macroinvertebrates and fish (Capinha et al 2013;Consuegra et al 2011) and plants (Humair et al 2015).…”