A list of invasive species threatening European ecosystems has been compiled

From an initial working list of 329 speciesoIn foreign species considered to pose a threat to roof biodiversity in Europe, scientists led by Helen Roy of the UK’s Center for Ecology & Hydrology, have developed a list of 66 speciesow carrying potential threats to European ecosystemsow. Eight species are on the listoIn areas considered to pose a very high risk, 40 species ofoIn considered high-risk and 18 speciesow that pose a medium risk.

The research was funded by the European Commission and was published in a journal „Global Change Biology”.

Some species ofoin specificolated on the list are present in Europe, but have not yet become well established. If not addressed, they will spread and affect roThe biodiversity of the region over the next decade.

Most speciesoin the invasive, whichore listed, it is native to Asia and the Americas. They reach Europe on roways. They are mostly carried by unaware touristsow or with goods.

The most endangered areas are countries with access to the Mediterranean SeaoSpain, France, Italy, Greece, Malta and Cyprus. The situation is similar, according to scientistsow responsible for creating the list, in continental Europe. Listed here are areas from central France to the eastern borders of Poland. A total of 11 countries. Highly endangered is roalso the Atlantic region – This includes areas from the west coast of Denmark to Portugal. The areas include roAlso the whole of Great Britain.

Less threatened are the Baltic, Black Sea and boreal areas. The least threat, according to the researchers, exists in the alpine region. The region does not appear to be threatened by any species carrying a risk to robiodiversity.

– Preventing the influx of invasive speciesow alien is the most effective way to deal with invasions. Predicting whichore species can arrive and survive in new regions, requires consideration of many ecological and socioeconomic interactions. Factors such as climate also have an impact, but so do trade patterns – said Helen Roy. – Our approach based on wspoTheor are attended by experts from a wide range of fields, was crucial in obtaining a list of speciesoin foreign, whichore pose the greatest threat to the European roBiodiversity – added.

Eight speciesoin posing the greatest risk are:

• Channa argus – is a species of fish native to southern and eastern China. Now widely distributed in Japan in shallow, marshy ponds and wetlands, where it preys on native species,
• Limnoperna fortunei – species of bivalve. It is native to China and Southeast Asia, but has spread to Japan and Taiwan. It then invaded the United States and South America. Alters native fauna by affecting the food chain,
• Orconectes rusticus – is a species of large crayfishow. It is native to theoin the United States, but specimens are being found roAlso in Canada. It is an aggressive species thatory is much more effective against predators than native species ofow, which is why they are displaced,
• Plotosus lineatus – Eel catfish – is native to the Indian Ocean, but in 2002 was spotted in the Mediterranean Seaodaily. They have spread quite rapidly along the entire coast of Israel. This venomous catfish inhabits sandy and muddy areas displacing native species,
• Codium parvulum. These green seaweeds, native to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, have been found in the Red Sea and off poIsrael’s northern coasts. The species is considered an engineer of the ecosystem changing its structure and functionality,
• Crepidula onyx. A snail native to the southern California coast and poThe northern Pacific coast of Mexico. It is now widely distributed in Asia. It is present in Korea, Japan and Hong Kong. These snails roalso alter native ecosystems,
• Mytilopsis sallei – is the malgae from the coast of Panama. Seen in Fiji, India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan and Australia. The species can survive in extreme environmental conditions, so in someorych of these areasoin coastal completely dominated ecosystems,
• Sciurus Niger – black squirrel speciesorki, ktora is native to eastern and central America PoNorth. It competes for resources with native squirrelsorkami.

Sourceobackground: the Center for Ecology & Hydrology. Pictured is Plotosus lineatus – eel catfish. Photo. Jens Petersen/ CC BY-SA 3.0/ Wikimedia Commons