Future proofing the biosecurity of New Zealand

Biosecurity is widely viewed by industry to be critical to the economic prosperity of New Zealand. This article is an overview of the challenges this country faces in preventing and managing pest, weeds and diseases. The next 10 years will see dramatic changes in how scientists, industry and the general public contribute to the biosecurity system. These changes should lead to a more efficient and coordinated approach, but they will also increase uncertainties about the way we predict and respond to the future risks we might face

Advancing One Biosecurity to address the pandemic risks of biological invasions

The world is witnessing a global rise in numbers of emerging invasive alien species, but identifying which species pose a pandemic threat remains poorly understood. The disjointed international regulatory environment presents a significant challenge to biosecurity interventions at a global scale. A novel way forward is through One Biosecurity, an interdisciplinary approach to biosecurity policy and research that enhances the interconnections between human, animal, plant, and environmental health to prevent and mitigate the impacts of invasive alien species. One Biosecurity underpins three initiatives essential to deal with the pandemic risks from biological invasions: new risk assessment tools that look beyond national borders toward biosecurity risks of international concern, a stronger regulatory instrument to address biosecurity threats at a worldwide scale, and the establishment of a multilateral biosecurity convention responsible for biosecurity governance. Together, these initiatives will drive a new science and policy agenda to deliver evidence-based governance of global biosecurity

Influence of climate and regeneration microsites on Pinus contorta invasion into an alpine ecosystem in New Zealand

In many regions, alien conifers have spread widely at lower elevations and are increasingly found colonizing alpine areas. Although studies have addressed conifer invasions at low elevations, little is known about the rates and constraints on spread into higher elevations. Here, we assess the relative importance of climate and the availability of regeneration microsites on the establishment of the alien species <em>Pinus contorta</em> into a high elevation site in New Zealand. Spread has occurred from two stands planted at the elevation of the native treeline (1347–1388 masl) in the 1960s. Most stems established between 1350 and 1450 masl and <em>P. contorta</em> individuals were found up to 270 m above the original plantings. Although the population has increased by 180% in the last 20 years, population growth rate has been declining. Furthermore, comparisons with studies from other mountain ranges around the world and at low elevations in New Zealand suggest this is a relatively limited spread. Our results suggest that climate variation did not have a significant effect on establishment patterns, as opposed to availability of regeneration microsites. Soil and alpine mat microsites favoured establishment of<em> P. contorta</em> and, although these microsites did not appear to be saturated, microsite availability may be an important limiting factor for the spread of <em>P. contorta.</em> Thus management strategies should focus on preventing spread in addition to removing already established stems

Framework and guidelines for implementing the proposed IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT)

Recently, Blackburn et al. (2014) developed a simple, objective and transparent method for classifying alien taxa in terms of the magnitude of their detrimental environmental impacts in recipient areas. Here, we present a comprehensive framework and guidelines for implementing this method, which we term the Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa, or EICAT. We detail criteria for applying the EICAT scheme in a consistent and comparable fashion, prescribe the supporting information that should be supplied along with classifications, and describe the process for implementing the method. This comment aims to draw the attention of interested parties to the framework and guidelines, and to present them in their entirety in a location where they are freely accessible to any potential users

No saturation in the accumulation of alien species worldwide

Although research on human-mediated exchanges of species has substantially intensified during the last centuries, we know surprisingly little about temporal dynamics of alien species accumulations across regions and taxa. Using a novel database of 45,813 first records of 16,926 established alien species, we show that the annual rate of first records worldwide has increased during the last 200 years, with 37% of all first records reported most recently (1970–2014). Inter-continental and inter-taxonomic variation can be largely attributed to the diaspora of European settlers in the nineteenth century and to the acceleration in trade in the twentieth century. For all taxonomic groups, the increase in numbers of alien species does not show any sign of saturation and most taxa even show increases in the rate of first records over time. This highlights that past efforts to mitigate invasions have not been effective enough to keep up with increasing globalization

are ecologically harmful alien species associated with particular introduction pathways?

Prioritization of introduction pathways is seen as an important component of the management of biological invasions. We address whether established alien plants, mammals, freshwater fish and terrestrial invertebrates with known ecological impacts are associated with particular introduction pathways (release, escape, contaminant, stowaway, corridor and unaided). We used the information from the European alien species database DAISIE (www.europe- aliens.org) supplemented by the EASIN catalogue (European Alien Species Information Network), and expert knowledge. Plants introduced by the pathways release, corridor and unaided were disproportionately more likely to have ecological impacts than those introduced as contaminants. In contrast, impacts were not associated with particular introduction pathways for invertebrates, mammals or fish. Thus, while for plants management strategies should be targeted towards the appropriate pathways, for animals, management should focus on reducing the total number of taxa introduced, targeting those pathways responsible for high numbers of introductions. However, regardless of taxonomic group, having multiple introduction pathways increases the likelihood of the species having an ecological impact. This may simply reflect that species introduced by multiple pathways have high propagule pressure and so have a high probability of establishment. Clearly, patterns of invasion are determined by many interacting factors and management strategies should reflect this complexity

Scientists' warning on invasive alien species

Biological invasions are a global consequence of an increasingly connected world and the rise in human population size. The numbers of invasive alien species – the subset of alien species that spread widely in areas where they are not native, affecting the environment or human livelihoods – are increasing. Synergies with other global changes are exacerbating current invasions and facilitating new ones, thereby escalating the extent and impacts of invaders. Invasions have complex and often immense long-term direct and indirect impacts. In many cases, such impacts become apparent or problematic only when invaders are well established and have large ranges. Invasive alien species break down biogeographic realms, affect native species richness and abundance, increase the risk of native species extinction, affect the genetic composition of native populations, change native animal behaviour, alter phylogenetic diversity across communities, and modify trophic networks. Many invasive alien species also change ecosystem functioning and the delivery of ecosystem services by altering nutrient and contaminant cycling, hydrology, habitat structure, and disturbance regimes. These biodiversity and ecosystem impacts are accelerating and will increase further in the future. Scientific evidence has identified policy strategies to reduce future invasions, but these strategies are often insufficiently implemented. For some nations, notably Australia and New Zealand, biosecurity has become a national priority. There have been long-term successes, such as eradication of rats and cats on increasingly large islands and biological control of weeds across continental areas. However, in many countries, invasions receive little attention. Improved international cooperation is crucial to reduce the impacts of invasive alien species on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human livelihoods. Countries can strengthen their biosecurity regulations to implement and enforce more effective management strategies that should also address other global changes that interact with invasions.Czech Science Foundation 19-28807XCzech Academy of Sciences RVO 67985939Swiss National Science Foundation 31BD30_184114, 31003A_179491Austrian Science Foundation FWF I 3757-B29National Research Foundation of South Africa IFR2010041400019, IFR160215158271New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment C09X1611CONICYT AFB-170008Fondecyt 1180205Natural Environment Research Council NE/R016429/1Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft JE 288/9-2, 264740629Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades PCI2018- 092939German Federal Ministry of Education and Research 01LC1803A, 01LC1807B, 01LC1807

Blurring alien introduction pathways risks losing the focus on invasive species policy

The pathways by which alien species are introduced to new regions fall into six broad classes: deliberate release; escape from captivity; contaminant of a commodity; stowaway on a transport vector; via an infrastructure corridor (without which spread would not be possible) or unaided from other invaded regions (Hulme et al. 2008). However, Gilroy et al. (2016) argue that species dispersing naturally, through the infrastructure corridor or unaided pathway, should be classed as native rather than alien. We contend their proposal is not only unworkable but also unwise

Distinct Biogeographic Phenomena Require a Specific Terminology: A Reply to Wilson and Sagoff

In a recent publication, we proposed that the increasing number of range-expanding species that track human induced environmental change warrant specific recognition in science and biodiversity management, and we proposed the term ‘neonative’ for these taxa. Here, we reply to two letters (Wilson 2019, Sagoff 2019) that criticised specific, yet different aspects presented in our publication. While we disagree on several points with both authors, we agree that a broader discourse is needed for developing robust and widely accepted definitions and terms for the ever more important phenomenon of neonative species