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Trans-national horizon scanning for invasive non-native species: a case study in western Europe

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Abstract

Horizon scanning for high-risk invasive non-native species (INNS) is crucial in preparing and implementing measures to prevent introductions, as well as to focus efforts in the control of species already present. We initiated a trans-national horizon-scanning exercise focused on four countries in western Europe: Great Britain, France, Belgium and The Netherlands, which share similar environmental and socio-economic characteristics. We followed a structured four-step approach combining existing knowledge about INNS, with a collaborative identification of priorities for research and management: (1) systematic review of potential INNS of concern, (2) discrimination of INNS into an Alert and Black List depending on their absence or presence in the study area respectively, (3) risk analysis of the Alert List, and (4) expert ranking of species in the Black List. Amongst species not yet present in the four countries (i.e. Alert List), assessors reliably pointed to the Emerald ash-borer (Agrilus planipennis) and Sosnowski’s hogweed (Heracleum sosnowskyi) as those INNS with the highest risk of invasion and impact. The Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera), zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) and killer shrimp (Dikerogammarus villosus) were consistently highlighted as some of the most problematic INNS already present in the study area (i.e. Black List). The advantages of our combined approach include that it is inclusive of all-taxa, prioritizes both established and emerging biological threats across trans-national scales, and considers not only the ecological impact, but also potential direct economic consequences as well as the manageability of invasive species.

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Acknowledgments

Research leading to this study has been funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the EU co-funded Interreg 2Seas project RINSE (Reducing the Impact of Non-Native Species in Europe; www.rinse-europe.eu), which seeks to improve awareness of the threats posed by INNS, and the methods to address them. BG received financial support from RINSE and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the Severo Ochoa Program for Centres of Excellence in R+D+I (SEV-2012-0262). PB was supported by a post-doctoral fellowship from the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen, Belgium). All co-authors participated in the prioritization of the Alert and Black Lists, and we are deeply grateful to those colleagues that helped in this process (in alphabetical order): Karolina Bacela, Simon Baker, Joerg Brandner, Céline Fontaine, Dirk-Jan van der Gaag, Eduard Harris, Ben Hoffman, Rieks van Klinken, Fred Kraus, Caroline Laburn, Ans Mouton, François Moutou, Carl Sayer, Ernst-Jan Scholte, Richard Shaw, Ronaldo Sousa, Julia Stansfield, Michael Sutton-Croft, Alan Tye, Hugo Verreycken, Aymetric Watterlot, and Adrian Wood.

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  1. Belinda Gallardo

    Present address: Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Restoration, Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, Campus de Aula Dei, 50059, Saragossa, Spain

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK

    Belinda Gallardo, Alexandra Zieritz & David C. Aldridge

  2. School of Geography, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Jalan Broga, 43500, Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

    Alexandra Zieritz

  3. Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Kliniekstraat 25, 1070, Brussels, Belgium

    Tim Adriaens

  4. Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Darwin Building, UCL, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Céline Bellard

  5. Ecology, Systematic and Evolution, UMR CNRS 8079, Université Paris Sud, 91405, Orsay, France

    Céline Bellard

  6. Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, J. Plateaustraat 22, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Pieter Boets

  7. Provincial Centre of Environmental Research, Godshuizenlaan 95, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Pieter Boets

  8. Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB, UK

    J. Robert Britton

  9. Centre for Ecology and Hydrobiology (CEH Wallingford), Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxon, OX10 8BB, UK

    Jonathan R. Newman

  10. Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, National Reference Centre, P.O. Box 9102, 6700 HC, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Johan L. C. H. van Valkenburg

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  1. Belinda Gallardo
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Correspondence to Belinda Gallardo.

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Gallardo, B., Zieritz, A., Adriaens, T. et al. Trans-national horizon scanning for invasive non-native species: a case study in western Europe. Biol Invasions 18, 17–30 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-015-0986-0

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