Université de Fribourg

Improving the Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT): a summary of revisions to the framework and guidelines

Volery, Lara ; Blackburn, Tim M. ; Bertolino, Sandro ; Evans, Thomas ; Genovesi, Piero ; Kumschick, Sabrina ; Roy, Helen E. ; Smith, Kevin G. ; Bacher, Sven

In: NeoBiota, 2020, vol. 62, p. 547–567

The Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) classifies the impacts caused by alien species in their introduced range in standardised terms across taxa and recipient environments. Impacts are classified into one of five levels of severity, from Minimal Concern to Massive, via one of 12 impact mechanisms. Here, we explain revisions based on an IUCN-wide consultation process...

Université de Fribourg

Projecting the continental accumulation of alien species through to 2050

Seebens, Hanno ; Bacher, Sven ; Blackburn, Tim M. ; Capinha, César ; Dawson, Wayne ; Dullinger, Stefan ; Genovesi, Piero ; Hulme, Philip E. ; Kleunen, Mark ; Kühn, Ingolf ; Jeschke, Jonathan M. ; Lenzner, Bernd ; Liebhold, Andrew M. ; Pattison, Zarah ; Pergl, Jan ; Pyšek, Petr ; Winter, Marten ; Essl, Franz

In: Global Change Biology, 2020, p. gcb.15333

Biological invasions have steadily increased over recent centuries. However, we still lack a clear expectation about future trends in alien species numbers. In particular, we do not know whether alien species will continue to accumulate in regional floras and faunas, or whether the pace of accumulation will decrease due to the depletion of native source pools. Here, we apply a new model to...

Université de Fribourg

Scientists’ warning on invasive alien species

Pyšek, Petr ; Hulme, Philip E. ; Simberloff, Dan ; Bacher, Sven ; Blackburn, Tim M. ; Carlton, James T. ; Dawson, Wayne ; Essl, Franz ; Foxcroft, Llewellyn C. ; Genovesi, Piero ; Jeschke, Jonathan M. ; Kühn, Ingolf ; Liebhold, Andrew M. ; Mandrak, Nicholas E. ; Meyerson, Laura A. ; Pauchard, Aníbal ; Pergl, Jan ; Roy, Helen E. ; Seebens, Hanno ; Kleunen, Mark ; Vilà, Montserrat ; Wingfield, Michael J. ; Richardson, David M.

In: Biological Reviews, 2020, p. brv.12627

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...

Université de Fribourg

A conceptual framework for range-expanding species that track human-induced environmental change

Essl, Franz ; Dullinger, Stefan ; Genovesi, Piero ; Hulme, Philip E ; Jeschke, Jonathan M ; Katsanevakis, Stelios ; Kühn, Ingolf ; Lenzner, Bernd ; Pauchard, Aníbal ; Pyšek, Petr ; Rabitsch, Wolfgang ; Richardson, David M ; Seebens, Hanno ; van Kleunen, Mark ; van der Putten, Wim H ; Vilà, Montserrat ; Bacher, Sven

In: BioScience, 2019, vol. 69, no. 11, p. 908–919

For many species, human-induced environmental changes are important indirect drivers of range expansion into new regions. We argue that it is important to distinguish the range dynamics of such species from those that occur without, or with less clear, involvement of human-induced environmental changes. We elucidate the salient features of the rapid increase in the number of species whose...

Université de Fribourg

Which taxa are alien? Criteria, applications, and uncertainties

Essl, Franz ; Bacher, Sven ; Genovesi, Piero ; Hulme, Philip E. ; Jeschke, Jonathan M. ; Katsanevakis, Stelios ; Kowarik, Ingo ; Kühn, Ingolf ; Pyšek, Petr ; Rabitsch, Wolfgang ; Schindler, Stefan ; Kleunen, Mark van ; Vilà, Montserrat ; Wilson, John R. U. ; Richardson, David M.

In: BioScience, 2018, vol. 68, no. 7, p. 496–509

Human activities such as the transport of species to new regions and modifications of the environment are increasingly reshaping the distribution of biota. Accordingly, developing robust, repeatable, and consistent definitions of alien species that serve scientific and policy purposes has become of prime importance. We provide a set of classification criteria that are widely applicable across...

Université de Fribourg

Developing a framework of minimum standards for the risk assessment of alien species

Roy, Helen E. ; Rabitsch, Wolfgang ; Scalera, Riccardo ; Stewart, Alan ; Gallardo, Belinda ; Genovesi, Piero ; Essl, Franz ; Adriaens, Tim ; Bacher, Sven ; Booy, Olaf ; Branquart, Etienne ; Brunel, Sarah ; Copp, Gordon Howard ; Dean, Hannah ; D?hondt, Bram ; Josefsson, Melanie ; Kenis, Marc ; Kettunen, Marianne ; Linnamagi, Merike ; Lucy, Frances ; Martinou, Angeliki ; Moore, Niall ; Nentwig, Wolfgang ; Nieto, Ana ; Pergl, Jan ; Peyton, Jodey ; Roques, Alain ; Schindler, Stefan ; Schönrogge, Karsten ; Solarz, Wojciech ; Stebbing, Paul D. ; Trichkova, Teodora ; Vanderhoeven, Sonia ; Valkenburg, Johan van ; Zenetos, Argyro

In: Journal of Applied Ecology, 2018, vol. 55, no. 2, p. 526–538

Biological invasions are a threat to biodiversity, society and the economy. There is an urgent need to provide evidence-based assessments of the risks posed by invasive alien species (IAS) to prioritize action. Risk assessments underpin IAS policies in many ways: informing legislation; providing justification of restrictions in trade or consumer activities; prioritizing surveillance and rapid...

Université de Fribourg

A vision for global monitoring of biological invasions

Pyšek, Petr ; Jeschke, Jonathan M. ; Blackburn, Tim M. ; Bacher, Sven ; Capinha, César ; Costello, Mark J. ; Fernández, Miguel ; Gregory, Richard D. ; Hobern, Donald ; Hui, Cang ; Jetz, Walter ; Kumschick, Sabrina ; McGrannachan, Chris ; Pergl, Jan ; Roy, Helen E. ; Scalera, Riccardo ; Squires, Zoe E. ; R.U.Wilson, John ; Winter, Marten ; Genovesi, Piero ; McGeoch, Melodie A.

In: Biological Conservation, 2017, vol. 213, no. Part B, p. 295–308

Managing biological invasions relies on good global coverage of species distributions. Accurate information on alien species distributions, obtained from international policy and cross-border co-operation, is required to evaluate trans-boundary and trading partnership risks. However, a standardized approach for systematically monitoring alien species and tracking biological invasions is still...

Université de Fribourg

Socio-economic impact classification of alien taxa (SEICAT)

Bacher, Sven ; Blackburn, Tim M. ; Essl, Franz ; Genovesi, Piero ; Heikkilä, Jaakko ; Jeschke, Jonathan M. ; Jones, Glyn ; Keller, Reuben ; Kenis, Marc ; Kueffer, Christoph ; Martinou, Angeliki F. ; Nentwig, Wolfgang ; Pergl, Jan ; Pyšek, Petr ; Rabitsch, Wolfgang ; Richardson, David M. ; Roy, Helen E. ; Saul, Wolf-Christian ; Scalera, Riccardo ; Vilà, Montserrat ; Wilson, John R. U. ; Kumschick, Sabrina

In: Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2017, p. -

Many alien taxa are known to cause socio-economic impacts by affecting the different constituents of human well-being (security; material and non-material assets; health; social, spiritual and cultural relations; freedom of choice and action). Attempts to quantify socio-economic impacts in monetary terms are unlikely to provide a useful basis for evaluating and comparing impacts of alien taxa...

Université de Fribourg

Troubling travellers: are ecologically harmful alien species associated with particular introduction pathways?

Pergl, Jan ; Pyšek, Petr ; Bacher, Sven ; Essl, Franz ; Genovesi, Piero ; Harrower, Colin A. ; Hulme, Philip E. ; Jeschke, Jonathan M. ; Kenis, Marc ; Kühn, Ingolf ; Perglová, Irena ; Rabitsch, Wolfgang ; Roques, Alain ; Roy, David B. ; Roy, Helen E. ; Vilà, Montserrat ; Winter, Marten ; Nentwig, Wolfgang

In: NeoBiota, 2017, vol. 32, p. 1–20

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...