Assessment of the ecological and economic/societal impacts of the introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) is one of the primary focus areas of bioinvasion science in terrestrial and aquatic ...environments, and is considered essential to management. A classification system of NIS, based on the magnitude of their environmental impacts, was recently proposed to assist management. Here, we consider the potential application of this classification scheme to the marine environment, and offer a complementary framework focussing on value sets in order to explicitly address marine management concerns. Since existing data on marine NIS impacts are scarce and successful marine removals are rare, we propose that management of marine NIS adopt a precautionary approach, which not only would emphasise preventing new incursions through pre-border and at-border controls but also should influence the categorisation of impacts. The study of marine invasion impacts requires urgent attention and significant investment, since we lack the luxury of waiting for the knowledge base to be acquired before the window of opportunity closes for feasible management.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The brackish Baltic Sea hosts species of various origins and environmental tolerances. These immigrated to the sea 10,000 to 15,000 years ago or have been introduced to the area over the relatively ...recent history of the system. The Baltic Sea has only one known endemic species. While information on some abiotic parameters extends back as long as five centuries and first quantitative snapshot data on biota (on exploited fish populations) originate generally from the same time, international coordination of research began in the early twentieth century. Continuous, annual Baltic Sea-wide long-term datasets on several organism groups (plankton, benthos, fish) are generally available since the mid-1950s. Based on a variety of available data sources (published papers, reports, grey literature, unpublished data), the Baltic Sea, incl. Kattegat, hosts altogether at least 6,065 species, including at least 1,700 phytoplankton, 442 phytobenthos, at least 1,199 zooplankton, at least 569 meiozoobenthos, 1,476 macrozoobenthos, at least 380 vertebrate parasites, about 200 fish, 3 seal, and 83 bird species. In general, but not in all organism groups, high sub-regional total species richness is associated with elevated salinity. Although in comparison with fully marine areas the Baltic Sea supports fewer species, several facets of the system's diversity remain underexplored to this day, such as micro-organisms, foraminiferans, meiobenthos and parasites. In the future, climate change and its interactions with multiple anthropogenic forcings are likely to have major impacts on the Baltic biodiversity.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
To enable successful management of marine bioinvasions, timely and robust scientific advice is required. This knowledge should inform managers and stakeholders on the magnitude of a pressure (rate of ...human-mediated introductions), the environmental state of an ecosystem (impacts of non-indigenous species), and the success of management response (prevention, eradication, mitigation). This advice often relies on baseline biodiversity information in the form of measureable parameters (metrics). This can be derived from conventional approaches such as visual surveys, but also by utilizing environmental DNA/RNA-based molecular techniques, which are increasingly being touted as promising tools for assessing biodiversity and detecting rare or invasive species. Depending on the stage of incursion, each approach has merits and limitations. In this review we assess the performance of biosecurity-relevant biodiversity parameters derived from eDNA/eRNA samples and discuss the results in relation to different stages of invasion and management applications. The overall performance of considered methods ranged between 42 and 75% based on defined criteria, with target-specific approaches scoring higher in general. Caveats are discussed along with avenues which may enhance these techniques and their successful uptake for marine biosecurity surveillance and management. To facilitate and encourage uptake of these techniques, there is a need for an international collaborative framework aimed at unifying molecular sampling and analysis methodologies. Improvement of quantitative capacity and cost-efficiency will also enhance their integration in biosecurity programmes.
Non-indigenous species (NIS) are recognized as a global threat to biodiversity and monitoring their presence and impacts is considered a prerequisite for marine environmental management and ...sustainable development. However, monitoring for NIS seldom takes place except for a few baseline surveys. With the goal of serving the requirements of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the EU Regulation on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species, the paper highlights the importance of early detection of NIS in dispersal hubs for a rapid management response, and of long-term monitoring for tracking the effects of NIS within recipient ecosystems, including coastal systems especially vulnerable to introductions. The conceptual framework also demonstrates the need for port monitoring, which should serve the above mentioned requirements but also provide the required information for implementation of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water and Sediments. Large scale monitoring of native, cryptogenic and NIS in natural and man-made habitats will collectively lead to meeting international requirements. Cost-efficient rapid assessments of target species may provide timely information for managers and policy-advisers focusing on particular NIS at particular localities, but this cannot replace long-term monitoring. To support legislative requirements, collected data should be verified and stored in a publicly accessible and routinely updated database/information system. Public involvement should be encouraged as part of monitoring programs where feasible.
•Monitoring of non-indigenous and cryptogenic species/populations needs to be initiated.•Monitoring should focus on bridgehead sites and dispersal hubs.•Monitoring methods should be internationally harmonized.•Rapid assessments of particular species may provide timely but limited information.•Monitoring data should be assembled in open access continually updated databases.
European brackish water seas (Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov, Caspian Sea) are subject to intense invasion of non-indigenous species (NIS). In these seas, salinity is the most important range ...limiting factor and native species seem to reach a minimum species richness at intermediate salinities. This trend, revealed by Remane in 1934 and later on confirmed by many other scientists, was compared to the salinity range of already established NIS in the European brackish water seas. It turned out that most NIS are well adapted to the salinities holding lowest native species richness, already in their native area, and that NIS richness maximum in brackish water seas occurs in the salinity intervals of native species richness minimum. A predictable pattern in the salinity range of NIS can be used as a tool in initial risk assessment of future invasions in brackish water seas, especially when mapping highly potential donor and recipient areas. A product of empty niches, suitable environmental conditions, and availability of proper vectors might be the most effective predictor for the invasibility of brackish water areas.
A comparative analysis of two risk assessment (RA) frameworks developed to support the implementation of the international Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) and European Regulation on ...Invasive Alien Species (IAS) was performed. This analysis revealed both differences and similarities between the IMO Risk Assessment Guidelines (IMO, 2007) and EU Regulation supplement on RA of IAS (EU, 2018) in RA approaches, key principles, RA components and categories of IAS impacts recommended for assessment. The results of this analysis were used to produce a common procedure for the evaluation of the bioinvasion risk and impact assessment methods intended to support international, regional and/or national policy on IAS. The procedure includes a scoring scheme to assess compliance with the key principles, RA components and categories of bioinvasion impacts taken into account by the methods. In these methods the categories of impacts on human health and economy are underrepresented comparing with impacts on environment.
The gulf wedge clam, common rangia Rangia cuneata, with a native origin in the Gulf of Mexico has spread to north European brackish and freshwaters. This semitropical species is able to survive in ...conditions of low winter temperatures in boreal environment of the Baltic Sea. Its expansion within lagoons and sheltered bays in the southern and eastern parts of the Baltic Sea appears to be with natural spread and its discontinuous distribution is likely to have been with shipping, either within ballast water or as settled stages transported with dredged material. In this account, we report on the occurrence of R. cuneata in Lithuanian waters. We compare habitats of the common rangia in the Curonian Lagoon and in the exposed coastal waters of the Baltic Sea. We notice high mortality of the species in the Lithuanian waters in comparison to the neighboring Vistula Lagoon. Based on finding of small specimens of R. cuneata attached to the spiked watermilfoil Myriophyllum spicatum, we indicate a risk of local spread with movements of fishing equipment and snagged plants on anchors or boat trailers removed from the water. We discuss the possibility of further spread of the common rangia to similar environments in the Baltic Sea and elsewhere in Europe.
In a world of declining biodiversity, monitoring is becoming crucial. Molecular methods, such as metabarcoding, have the potential to rapidly expand our knowledge of biodiversity, supporting ...assessment, management, and conservation. In the marine environment, where hard substrata are more difficult to access than soft bottoms for quantitative ecological studies, Artificial Substrate Units (ASUs) allow for standardized sampling. We deployed ASUs within five regional seas (Baltic Sea, Northeast Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and Red Sea) for 12–26 months to measure the diversity and community composition of macroinvertebrates. We identified invertebrates using a traditional approach based on morphological characters, and by metabarcoding of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. We compared community composition and diversity metrics obtained using the two methods. Diversity was significantly correlated between data types. Metabarcoding of ASUs allowed for robust comparisons of community composition and diversity, but not all groups were successfully sequenced. All locations were significantly different in taxonomic composition as measured with both kinds of data. We recovered previously known regional biogeographical patterns in both datasets (e.g., low species diversity in the Black and Baltic Seas, affinity between the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean). We conclude that the two approaches provide complementary information and that metabarcoding shows great promise for marine monitoring. However, until its pitfalls are addressed, the use of metabarcoding in monitoring of rocky benthic assemblages should be used in addition to classical approaches rather than instead of them.
We sampled in seven locations within five regional seas to measure the diversity and community composition of macroinvertebrates. We identified invertebrates using a traditional approach based on morphological characters, and by metabarcoding of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. We conclude that the two approaches provide complementary information and that metabarcoding shows great promise for marine monitoring.
•Non-formal education has an important role in education, however, the level of its implementation is still not sufficient in schools and outside of school.•Polish students from autonomic schools, ...seem to benefit from modern approaches more than the students from the public school system.•Questionnaire with a number of open questions provided more inspiring responses from respondents, then the questionnaire, in which only fixed responses were to be chosen.
In this work, we show the results from two different types of approaches designed to map the Arctic (Polar) perception of young learners in Poland and Lithuania. The first case study is composed of both closed and open questions (Case Study 1), while the second one is a closed, multiple choice type of questionnaire (Case Study 2). We have questioned a total of 274 learners in Case Study 1 and 80 in Case Study 2. In both cases, learners were divided into four age groups. The results show that the Case Study 1 questionnaire, due to its structure, provided more comprehensive information about the state of awareness among young learners in comparison with the limited option for answers (no open option) in Case Study 2. The results show that documentaries and nature films together are the dominating sources of information for all age groups. A very interesting finding came out from Case Study 1, which shows that school lessons dominate in public schools, with exception to high schools, however, other means of learning were also mentioned. Educational workshops play a very important part in learning among three youngest groups of students of public schools. In case of autonomic schools, it is lessons that play a key role in knowledge transfer at all levels of education, which is most likely related to the educational system in these schools, which regularly conduct group projects. Both studies show that nonformal education has an important role in education of young learners in Poland and Lithuania.
The coexistence of two congeneric amphipods, boreal Gammarus oceanicus, and arctic G. setosus, was studied during the summer seasons of 2017-2019 in the region of Isfjorden, Forlandsundet, and Prins ...Karl Forland island in the west-central part of the Svalbard archipelago (Arctic). Across the study area species distribution often overlapped, but the domination patterns mirrored environmental conditions preferred by each species. Both species, however, were able to survive in suboptimal conditions. On a small spatial scale (in one sample) the species were separated, which may suggest an antagonistic relationship between them. The ongoing changes in the environment of Svalbard will likely affect these two species differently. The increasing intrusion of Atlantic waters will probably favor the further expansion of G. oceanicus along the Svalbard coasts. This will be due to the gradual advance of the existing population, as an influx of individuals from the Nordic seas seems unlikely. G. setosus will remain the dominant species in cold-water areas such as the inner fjords and the northeastern coast of Svalbard and may find new suitable habitats in lagoons or estuaries fed by melting glaciers. Despite predicted changes in the distribution range of both species, their future coexistence should still be possible due to the wide range of environmental tolerance and the heterogeneity of the Svalbard coastal habitats.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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