This is a short communication of a discovery of the invasive Mediterranean snail species Theba pisana among food products in a market in Bulgaria imported from Spain. A single live juvenile specimen ...was found among lettuce leaves. Later it was alive kept in a terrarium.
The South American tomato pinworm,
Tuta absoluta
(Meyrick), is native to the western Neotropics. After invading Spain in 2006, it spread rapidly throughout Afro-Eurasia and has become a major threat ...to world tomato production. Integrated pest management (IPM) strategies have been developed, but widespread insecticide use has caused selection for insecticide resistance as well as undesirable effects on key beneficial arthropods. Augmentation and conservation biological control relying on omnivorous mirid predators has proved successful for management of
T. absoluta,
where implementation is dependent on abiotic, biotic (e.g., alternative prey), and anthropogenic factors (e.g., pesticides). Research has been carried out on larval parasitoids, showing potential for further development of sustainable control. The development of resistant tomato varieties is ongoing, but they are not commercially available yet. Knowledge gaps remain to be filled to optimize IPM packages on tomato crops and to help prevent further spread worldwide.
The planted alien mangrove species (i.e., Sonneratia apetala, SOA) was deliberately introduced to control the growth and spread of invasive species (i.e., Spartina alterniflora, SA) and restore ...mangrove ecosystems in Qi’ao Island, the largest artificially planted mangrove reserve of China. However, the effects of the alien species triggered a debate over whether they invaded or restored the mangrove vegetation. There is a gap in observing the impact of planted alien species on invasive alien species and native species over long periods. This study employed high-resolution images with less than 1 m acquired in 2002, 2008, 2010, 2013, and 2016 to examine spatial dynamics and interactions between alien, invasive, and native species. Results showed that mangrove areas increased to 327.56 ha in 2016 from 79.63 ha in 2002, while the presence of the invasive species SA dwindled to 4.19 ha in 2016, down from 110.18 ha in 2002. The increase in mangrove stand areas was mainly due to the artificial planting of SOA. Most of the SA habitat was occupied by SOA from 2002 to 2016, suggesting that artificial SOA can effectively control the growth and extension of invasive SA. There was no notable transfer from native to alien species. This indicated that alien species did not significantly impact the selection of native species in our study area during the observed period. However, we found that the alien species demonstrates adaptability, limiting the expansion of native species. Therefore, we should not underestimate the invasive power of alien species in mangrove ecosystems. Its ecological and biological effects still need to be carefully assessed over an extended period. The findings provided insight into the impact of planted alien mangroves from the perspective of spatiotemporal changes in species compositions.
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•Dynamic interactions among mangrove species were examined by time-series analysis.•Planted alien species significantly restored mangrove ecosystems.•Invasive species can be effectively controlled by planted alien species.•We did not find a significant negative impact of alien species on native species.
Western flower thrips,
Frankliniella occidentalis
, first arose as an important invasive pest of many crops during the 1970s-1980s. The tremendous growth in international agricultural trade that ...developed then fostered the invasiveness of western flower thrips. We examine current knowledge regarding the biology of western flower thrips, with an emphasis on characteristics that contribute to its invasiveness and pest status. Efforts to control this pest and the tospoviruses that it vectors with intensive insecticide applications have been unsuccessful and have created significant problems because of the development of resistance to numerous insecticides and associated outbreaks of secondary pests. We synthesize information on effective integrated management approaches for western flower thrips that have developed through research on its biology, behavior, and ecology. We further highlight emerging topics regarding the species status of western flower thrips, as well as its genetics, biology, and ecology that facilitate its use as a model study organism and will guide development of appropriate management practices.
Invasive Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden., historically wrongly considered as a perspective fodder crop, is spread over great distances from its cultivation sites. Nowadays, it presents a real threat to ...ecosystems. While it did not prove to be a successful choice for livestock feed, the biomass of the plant remains a plentiful and valuable raw biomaterial. Despite its harmfulness (the content of furanocoumarins), many researchers attempt to explore its potential benefits for use in different industries, e.g., agrochemical, pharmaceutical, food, energy, construction and manufacturing. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of possible uses with a focus on recent advances in research. The plant's morphology, distribution and habit, phytochemical constituents, bioactive compounds' extraction methods, plant's biological activities, and eradication techniques were described as well.
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•Aggressive H.sosnowskyi generates vast quantities of biomass with phototoxic substances.•Currently, the eradication of H.sosnowskyi poses considerable challenges.•Plant eradication can be approached through appropriate harvesting and biorefinery.•Potential use of H.sosnowskyi biomass for various sectors of industry is reviewed.•Despite negative impacts in affected areas, biomass can be beneficially utilized.
Aim
Reducing the rate of alien species introductions is a major conservation aim. However, accurately quantifying the rate at which species are introduced into new regions remains a challenge due to ...the confounding effect of observation efforts on discovery records. Despite the recognition of this issue, most analyses are still based on raw discovery records, leading to biased inferences. In this study, we evaluate different models for estimating introduction rates, including new models that use auxiliary data on observation effort, and identify their strengths and weaknesses.
Innovation
We compare four models: (1) a naïve model which assumes perfect detection; (2) a model proposed by Solow and Costello (the S&C model); (3) constant detection model: a modified version of the S&C model with constant detection probabilities and (4) a novel sampling proxy model: a model that uses external data on observation effort. We simulate discovery records of varying lengths, introduction rates and temporal patterns of detection probabilities to explore scenarios under which these models accurately estimate underlying introduction rates. (5) We also include code to perform a model based on Belmaker using independent data on the number of native species.
Main conclusion
We found that the length of the discovery records and the annual number of recorded species play a crucial role in the performance of all models. Under simulated scenarios of high detection, the naïve model is usually the best‐performing model, but it falls short when detection is low. Moreover, we find that in simulations which most likely mimic most real‐world cases (i.e. non‐monotonic probability of detection), incorporating external data on observation effort using the sampling proxy model, substantially improve estimates. This highlights the importance of considering observation effort when estimating introduction rates of alien species. To facilitate the use of these models, we provide a decision workflow and a dedicated R package (‘alien’).
In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, exclusions, and status changes for Italy or for ...Italian administrative regions of taxa in the genera
Bunias
,
Calocedrus
,
Calycanthus
,
Celosia
,
Clerodendrum
,
Convolvulus
,
Crassula
,
Cyclamen
,
Datura
,
Dicliptera
,
Eragrostis
,
Erigeron
,
Gamochaeta
,
Gazania
,
Impatiens
,
Kolkwitzia
,
Leucaena
,
Ludwigia
,
Medicago
,
Muscari
,
Nigella
,
Oenothera
,
Opuntia
,
Paulownia
,
Petroselinum
,
Phyllostachys
,
Physalis
,
Pseudosasa
,
Quercus
,
Reynoutria
,
Roldana
,
Saccharum
,
Sedum
,
Semiarundinaria
,
Senecio
,
Sisyrinchium
,
Solanum
,
Sporobolus
,
Tulipa
,
Vachellia
,
Verbena
, and
Youngia
. Nomenclatural and distribution updates published elsewhere are provided as Suppl. material 1.
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