Marine pests in paradise: capacity building, awareness raising and preliminary introduced species port survey results in the Republic of Palau

Abstract

The expansion of invasive non-indigenous species in the Mediterranean is generating an increasing concern about biodiversity protection and human health, with European countries being solicited to apply early warning measures in such circumstances. The recent expansion of the hazardous fish Lagocephalus sceleratus in the Straits of Sicily, the subsequent actions adopted to manage the risk and the feedback received from the public are herein presented, as an example of the interaction between experts and the public in promoting scientific citizenship through an ad hoc action. A rapid increase in media reports related to L. sceleratus had been registered after the launch of the early warning campaign as part of a scientific and health risk communication strategy, and seven new records of this species have emerged shortly after. This study represents a useful contribution to the further bridging of the science-policy gap.

Marine Biosecurity Crisis Decision-Making: Two Tools to Aid “Go”/“No Go” Decision-Making

“…Our assessment has focused on Australian bryozoan species as a well-known group with readily accessible taxonomic, ecological and biogeographic information globally and in Australia. The identified criteria with greatest predictive power (1,2,3,9,10,13) are unsurprising and have largely been identified in previous studies using other taxonomic groups with different ecological habits (e.g., sponges- Kelly et al, 2003;multiple species-Hewitt et al, 2004;soft corals-Concepcion et al, 2010;de Araujo Bumbeer and da Rocha, 2012;Campbell et al, 2016). None of the identified six criteria are explicitly aligned to any taxonomic group and would not be expected to change but instead are descriptive of widely successful invading species.…”

“…Thirty-eight papers have been published that either stated that they used the criteria (with no description of how the criteria were used), or used the criteria with a description of how they applied the criteria. At least seven research groups (Kelly et al, 2003;Xavier et al, 2009;Concepcion et al, 2010;Geller et al, 2010;de Araujo Bumbeer and da Rocha, 2012;Campbell et al, 2016;Pociecha et al, 2016) have suggested alterations to the criteria. The alterations being either consideration of whether a species is detected on artificial substrate(s) (Kelly et al, 2003; de Araujo Bumbeer and da Rocha, 2012; Pociecha et al, 2016), or the use of molecular tools (Xavier et al, 2009;Concepcion et al, 2010;Geller et al, 2010).…”

Biosecurity messages are lost in translation to citizens: Implications for devolving management to citizens

“…The delivery of biosecurity outcomes in the marine environment is difficult and costly [ 12 , 18 , 19 ]. The need for a diffuse observation network to enhance early detection and rapid response has encouraged use of citizen and industry engagement to supplement state based efforts (e.g., [ 4 , 20 – 22 ]. The early successes associated with citizen based contributions have encouraged some jurisdictions to devolve biosecurity responsibilities through self-regulation and self-management, in some cases replacing state based efforts.…”

Which Values Do Non-Native Marine Species Affect? A Case-Study Exploration of Perceived Values at Threat in Micronesia

“…comm.). Palau has established a team of marine biosecurity park rangers that are capable of identifying and dealing with introductions of NMS (Campbell et al, 2016).…”