Irresponsible vendors: Non‐native, invasive and threatened animals offered for garden pond stocking

Abstract

1. The pet trade has been responsible for many introductions of non-native species. Freshwater ornamental plants and animals originating from the pet trade are stocked to garden ponds.The present survey focused on awareness and responsible behaviour related to biological invasion risks of companies that designed, built, and stocked garden ponds. 2. A representative number (n = 124) of companies (commercial garden pond architects and builders) in the Czech Republic were surveyed regarding the offer of non-native, invasive and threatened native species. The survey was conducted over the entire warm period (from 1 May 2015 to 31 September 2015) while using personal visits, correspondence and interviews to list the species on offer.3. 'Traditional' ornamental species were offered by 39.1% of surveyed vendors, non-traditional 'marginal' species by 5.6%, common native species by 6.5% and threatened native species by 2.4%.4. The findings of this study support the hypothesis that 'garden pond' vendors offer non-native species with a risk of biological invasion; moreover, threatened native animals were also on sale. It is probable that a similar situation exists in other countries. It is important for the conservation of native aquatic biota to raise awareness of the need to reduce risk through responsible behaviour of those involved in the pet trade. It is also essential to prohibit stocking of potential invaders and to enforce the illegal capture and sale of native species.

Editorial: Freshwater biodiversity conservation: The role of artificial ponds in the 21st century

“…In Geneva, the overall pond density is four times higher in the city than in other parts of the country owing to the burgeoning number of domestic garden ponds (Oertli, Boissezon, Rosset, & Ilg, ). The value of garden ponds for biodiversity conservation is somewhat questionable, as they typically host limited faunal diversity (Hill & Wood, ), and largely contain ubiquitous or non‐native species (Oertli et al, ; Patoka, Blaha, Kalous, & Kouba, ). Furthermore, they are small and relatively uniform (Gaston, Smith, Thompson, & Warren, ).…”

Effect of recreational‐fisheries management on fish biodiversity in gravel pit lakes, with contrasts to unmanaged lakes

“…Illegal releases from aquaria, garden ponds or bait buckets, or planned stocking within fisheries‐management activities represent anthropogenic pathways that assist in colonisation of human‐made freshwater systems with fishes. Indeed, human‐assisted introductions today constitute the most common pathway of non‐native fish dispersal globally (Gozlan et al, ; Hirsch et al, ; Olden et al, ; Patoka et al, ). Thus, it is likely that most gravel pits are more rapidly colonised with fishes through anthropogenic than through natural means.…”

Crayfish in central and southern Ukraine with special focus on populations of indigenous crayfish Astacus pachypus (Rathke, 1837) and their conservation needs

“…As well as habitat degradation, thick‐ and narrow‐clawed crayfish in the Dnieper River are now threatened by the occurrence of non‐native marbled crayfish in a flooded quarry near Dnepropetrovsk city, which is close to the Dnieper River and its catchment (Novitsky & Son, ). The pet trade and stocking of ornamental non‐native freshwater animals including marbled crayfish to garden ponds, currently poses a high risk of biological invasion and threat to the native aquatic biota (Patoka, Bláha, Kalous, & Kouba, ).…”