Open-access journal Aquatic Invasions: an important part of the developing European information and early warning system on invasive alien species

Aquatic Invasions is considered as an example of an effective information sharing tool, currently helping to increase prompt reporting of records of new invasive species threatening European biodiversity

Tackling invasive alien species in Europe

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

Comparing a microbial biocide and chlorine as zebra mussel control strategies in an Irish drinking water treatment plant

A need exists for an environmentally friendly mussel control method to replace chlorine and other traditional control methods currentlyutilised in drinking water plants and other infested facilities. Zequanox® is a newly commercialised microbial biocide for zebra and quaggamussels comprised of killed Pseudomonas fluorescens CL145A cells. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of adevelopmental formulation of Zequanox (referred to as MBI 401 FDP) and chlorine treatments on adult and juvenile zebra mussels byrunning a biobox trial in conjunction with chlorine treatments at an infested Irish drinking water treatment plant. Since 2009, the plantmanagement has used a residual chlorine concentration of 2 mg/L in autumn to control both adult zebra mussels and juvenile settlement intheir three concrete raw water chambers. Juvenile mussel settlement was monitored in three bioboxes as well as in three treatment chambersin the plant for three months prior to treatment. Adult mussels were seeded into the chambers and bioboxes four days before treatment. InOctober 2011, the bioboxes were treated with MBI 401 FDP at 200 mg active substance/L, while chlorine treatment took place in the waterchambers. The MBI 401 FDP treatment lasted only 8 hours while chlorine treatment lasted seven days. Juvenile numbers were reduced tozero in both the bioboxes and treated chambers within seven days. Adult mussel mortality reached 80% for both the chlorine and MBI 401FDP treatment; however, mortality was achieved faster in the chlorine treatment. These results provided important insights into zebra musselcontrol alternatives to chlorine and supported further development of the now commercial product, Zequanox

Steam and Flame Applications as Novel Methods of Population Control for Invasive Asian Clam (Corbicula fluminea) and Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)

Control strategies for established populations of invasive alien species can be costly and complex endeavours, which are frequently unsuccessful. Therefore, rapid-reaction techniques that are capable of maximising efficacy whilst minimising environmental damage are urgently required. The Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea Müller, 1774), and the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha Pallas, 1771), are invaders capable of adversely affecting the functioning and biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems. Despite efforts to implement substantial population-control measures, both species continue to spread and persist within freshwater environments. As bivalve beds often become exposed during low-water conditions, this study examined the efficacy of steam-spray (≥100 °C, 350 kPa) and open-flame burn treatments (~1000 °C) to kill exposed individuals. Direct steam exposure lasting for 5 min caused 100% mortality of C. fluminea buried at a depth of 3 cm. Further, combined rake and thermal shock treatments, whereby the substrate is disturbed between each application of either a steam or open flame, caused 100% mortality of C. fluminea specimens residing within a 4-cm deep substrate patch, following three consecutive treatment applications. However, deeper 8-cm patches and water-saturated substrate reduced maximum bivalve species mortality rates to 77% and 70%, respectively. Finally, 100% of D. polymorpha specimens were killed following exposure to steam and open-flame treatments lasting for 30 s and 5 s, respectively. Overall, our results confirm the efficacy of thermal shock treatments as a potential tool for substantial control of low-water-exposed bivalves. Although promising, our results require validation through upscaling to field application, with consideration of other substrate types, increased substrate depth, greater bivalve densities, non-target and long-term treatment effects

Preventing and controlling nonnative species invasions to bend the curve of global freshwater biodiversity loss

The Emergency Recovery Plan for freshwater biodiversity recognizes that addressing nonnative species is one of six principal actions needed to bend the curve in freshwater biodiversity loss. This is because introduction rates of nonnative species continue to accelerate globally and where these species develop invasive populations, they can have severe impacts on freshwater biodiversity. The most effective management measure to protect freshwater biodiversity is to prevent introductions of nonnative species. Should a nonnative species be introduced, however, then its early detection and the implementation of rapid reaction measures can avoid it establishing and dispersing. If these measures are unsuccessful and the species becomes invasive, then control and containment measures can minimize its further spread and impact. Minimizing further spread and impact includes control methods to reduce invader abundance and containment methods such as screening of invaded sites and strict biosecurity to avoid the invader dispersing to neighbouring basins. Thesemanagement actions have benefitted from developments in invasion risk assessment that can prioritize species according to their invasion risk and, for species already invasive, ensure that management actions are commensurate with assessed risk. The successful management of freshwater nonnative species still requires the overcoming of some implementation challenges, including nonnative species often being a symptom of degraded habitats rather than the main driver of ecological change, and eradication methods often being non-species specific. Given the multiple anthropogenic stressors in freshwaters, nonnative species management must work with other restoration strategies if it is to deliver the Emergency Recovery Plan for freshwater biodiversity

Seven recommendations to make your invasive alien species data more useful

Science-based strategies to tackle biological invasions depend on recent, accurate, well-documented, standardized and openly accessible information on alien species. Currently and historically, biodiversity data are scattered in numerous disconnected data silos that lack interoperability. The situation is no different for alien species data, and this obstructs efficient retrieval, combination, and use of these kinds of information for research and policy-making. Standardization and interoperability are particularly important as many alien species related research and policy activities require pooling data. We describe seven ways that data on alien species can be made more accessible and useful, based on the results of a European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) workshop: (1) Create data management plans; (2) Increase interoperability of information sources; (3) Document data through metadata; (4) Format data using existing standards; (5) Adopt controlled vocabularies; (6) Increase data availability; and (7) Ensure long-term data preservation. We identify four properties specific and integral to alien species data (species status, introduction pathway, degree of establishment, and impact mechanism) that are either missing from existing data standards or lack a recommended controlled vocabulary. Improved access to accurate, real-time and historical data will repay the long-term investment in data management infrastructure, by providing more accurate, timely and realistic assessments and analyses. If we improve core biodiversity data standards by developing their relevance to alien species, it will allow the automation of common activities regarding data processing in support of environmental policy. Furthermore, we call for considerable effort to maintain, update, standardize, archive, and aggregate datasets, to ensure proper valorization of alien species data and information before they become obsolete or lost

Using structured eradication feasibility assessment to prioritize the management of new and emerging invasive alien species in Europe

Prioritizing the management of invasive alien species (IAS) is of global importance and within Europe integral to the EU IAS regulation. To prioritize management effectively, the risks posed by IAS need to be assessed, but so too does the feasibility of their management. While the risk of IAS to the EU has been assessed, the feasibility of management has not. We assessed the feasibility of eradicating 60 new (not yet established) and 35 emerging (established with limited distribution) species that pose a threat to the EU, as identified by horizon scanning. The assessment was carried out by 34 experts in invasion management from across Europe, applying the Non‐Native Risk Management scheme to defined invasion scenarios and eradication strategies for each species, assessing the feasibility of eradication using seven key risk management criteria. Management priorities were identified by combining scores for risk (derived from horizon scanning) and feasibility of eradication. The results show eradication feasibility score and risk score were not correlated, indicating that risk management criteria evaluate different information than risk assessment. In all, 17 new species were identified as particularly high priorities for eradication should they establish in the future, whereas 14 emerging species were identified as priorities for eradication now. A number of species considered highest priority for eradication were terrestrial vertebrates, a group that has been the focus of a number of eradication attempts in Europe. However, eradication priorities also included a diverse range of other taxa (plants, invertebrates and fish) suggesting there is scope to broaden the taxonomic range of attempted eradication in Europe. We demonstrate that broad scale structured assessments of management feasibility can help prioritize IAS for management. Such frameworks are needed to support evidence‐based decision‐making

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy