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

INVASIVESNET towards an International Association for Open Knowledge on Invasive Alien Species

In a world where invasive alien species (IAS) are recognised as one of the major threats to biodiversity, leading scientists from five continents have come together to propose the concept of developing an international association for open knowledge and open data on IAS—termed “INVASIVESNET”. This new association will facilitate greater understanding and improved management of invasive alien species (IAS) and biological invasions globally, by developing a sustainable network of networks for effective knowledge exchange. In addition to their inclusion in the CBD Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, the increasing ecological, social, cultural and economic impacts associated with IAS have driven the development of multiple legal instruments and policies. This increases the need for greater co-ordination, co-operation, and information exchange among scientists, management, the community of practice and the public. INVASIVESNET will be formed by linking new and existing networks of interested stakeholders including international and national expert working groups and initiatives, individual scientists, database managers, thematic open access journals, environmental agencies, practitioners, managers, industry, non-government organisations, citizens and educational bodies. The association will develop technical tools and cyberinfrastructure for the collection, management and dissemination of data and information on IAS; create an effective communication platform for global stakeholders; and promote coordination and collaboration through international meetings, workshops, education, training and outreach. To date, the sustainability of many strategic national and international initiatives on IAS have unfortunately been hampered by time-limited grants or funding cycles. Recognising that IAS initiatives need to be globally coordinated and ongoing, we aim to develop a sustainable knowledge sharing association to connect the outputs of IAS research and to inform the consequential management and societal challenges arising from IAS introductions. INVASIVESNET will provide a dynamic and enduring network of networks to ensure the continuity of connections among the IAS community of practice, science and management

Role of diapause in dispersal and invasion success by aquatic invertebrates

Review of existing literature shows an important role of diapause in dispersal of aquatic invertebrates. There is evidence that among aquatic invertebrates, the role of diapause in dispersal can be important in crustaceans, specifically for species that produce resting eggs. Analysis of dispersal vectors of diapausing species revealed the increasing role of human-mediated vectors of species dispersal during last century (intentional and unintentional introductions, specifically associated with shipping) in comparison with natural vectors (currents, wind, birds). Generally, the role of human-mediated vectors is most important for species dispersal across geographical barriers and into large aquatic ecosystems affected by shipping. Current human-mediated transport vectors increase rates of aquatic species introductions in many orders of magnitude in comparison with historical nature-driven species dispersal rates. Ability to develop diapausing resting stages facilitates species survival during movement across geographical barriers under extreme conditions, such as in ballast tanks of ships. Case studies for invasive species of Cladocera show that some invaders may possess adaptive life cycles, switching to the early prolonged gamogenetic reproduction, which facilitates their invasion success into novel ecosystems and further dispersal by both natural and human-mediated vectors

Pathways and gateways of freshwater invasions in Europe

CITATION: Nunes, A. L., et al. 2015. Pathways and gateways of freshwater invasions in Europe. Aquatic Invasions, 10(4):359-370, doi:10.3391/ai.2015.10.4.01.The original publication is available at http://www.aquaticinvasions.netTaking into account the continuous increase in freshwater introductions, and to support the recent European legislation on invasive alien species, the identification of priority pathways and gateways of introductions is of utmost importance to develop adequate control strategies. The aim of this paper was to analyse the main pathways and gateways of introductions of freshwater alien species in Europe. Based on a thorough review of the scientific and grey literature, information on pathways, country and year of initial introduction of all freshwater alien species in Europe, was retrieved. The spatial and temporal patterns and trends of biological invasions in freshwater ecosystems in Europe, in relation to different pathways, were assessed. Our results pinpoint the major importance of aquaculture, pet/aquarium trade and stocking activities as pathways of introduction of freshwater alien species in Europe. For species native to some European countries, shipping and inland canals were the most important pathways, highly responsible for the entry of many harmful species. Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy were the main entry gateways of freshwater alien species in Europe. We found a geographical pattern related to some pathways of introduction in Europe: introductions through inland canals were concentrated in Central/North-eastern Europe, while introductions through pet/terrarium/aquarium trade were mainly observed in Central/Western Europe. While Chordata species entered Europe mainly through the three major above mentioned pathways, many harmful Arthropoda and Mollusca entered through shipping and inland canals. The information gathered in this study clearly indicates the entry routes that should be prioritised by Member States, for which stronger control and management actions should be implemented and prevention efforts concentrated under the scope of the related new EU Regulation.http://www.aquaticinvasions.net/2015/issue4.htmlPublisher's versio

Functional response of midsummer planktonic and benthic communities in the Neva Estuary (eastern Gulf of Finland) to anthropogenic stress

Long-term hydrobiological research has shown that the functioning of the ecosystem of the Neva Estuary, one of the largest Baltic estuaries, has changed greatly since the beginning of the 20th century. Ineffective local water management in St. Petersburg during thelast twenty years has stimulated the development of a natural "biological plug" in the salt barrier zone in the inner part ofthe estuary and has altered the ecosystem's functioning. These changes include an increase in primary production, in the primary production:organic matter decomposition ratio, and in pelagic-benthic coupling. It has also given rise to filamentous algae blooms and intensive secondary pollution in the coastal zone of the Neva Estuary. The primary production of phytoplankton in the inner part of the estuary has reached 2.3 gC m^-2, that of the filamentous algae <i>Cladophora glomerata</i> 5.5 gC m^-2 these figures are much higher than in other regions of the Gulf of Finland

Status and Causal Pathway Assessments Supporting River Basin Management

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires a status assessment of all water bodies. If that status is deteriorated, the WFD urges the identification of its potential causes in order to be able to suggest appropriate management measures. The instrument of investigative monitoring allows for such identification, provided that appropriate tools are available to link the observed effects to causative stressors, while unravelling confounding factors. In this chapter, the state of the art of status and causal pathway assessment is described for the major stressors responsible for the deterioration of European water bodies, i.e. toxicity, acidification, salinisation, eutrophication and oxygen depletion, parasites and pathogens, invasive alien species, hydromorphological degradation, changing water levels as well as sediments and suspended matter. For each stressor, an extensive description of the potential effects on the ecological status is given. Secondly, stressor-specific abiotic and biotic indicators are described that allow for a first indication of probable causes, based on the assessment of available monitoring data. Subsequently, more advanced tools for site-specific confirmation of stressors at hand are discussed. Finally, the local status assessments are put into the perspective of the risk for downstream stretches in order to be able to prioritise stressors and to be able to select appropriate measures for mitigation of the risks resulting from these stressors