Environmental and economic impact assessment of alien and invasive fish species in Europe using the generic impact scoring system

Abstract

Invasions by alien species are one of the major threats to the native environment. There are multifold attempts to counter alien species, but limited resources for mitigation or eradication programmes makes prioritisation indispensable. We used the generic impact scoring system to assess the impact of alien fish species in Europe. It prioritises species, but also offers the possibility to compare the impact of alien invasive species between different taxonomic groups. For alien fish in Europe, we compiled a list of 40 established species. By literature research, we assessed the environmental impact (through herbivory, predation, competition, disease transmission, hybridisation and ecosystem alteration) and economic impact (on agriculture, animal production, forestry, human infrastructure, human health and human social life) of each species. The goldfish/gibel complex Carassius auratus/C. gibelio scored the highest impact points, followed by the grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella and the topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva. According to our analyses, alien fish species have the strongest impact on the environment through predation, followed by competition with native species. Besides negatively affecting animal production (mainly in aquaculture), alien fish have no pronounced economic impact. At the species level, C. auratus/C. gibelio show similar impact scores to the worst alien mammals in Europe. This study indicates that the generic impact scoring system is useful to investigate the impact of alien fish, also allowing cross‐taxa comparisons. Our results are therefore of major relevance for stakeholders and decision‐makers involved in management and eradication of alien fish species.

Impact of alien plants in Turkey assessed by the Generic Impact Scoring System

“…For management, identifying the most deleterious species is a priority (Pergl et al 2016). Hence, a robust and objective approach to rank alien species impacts through standard procedures is required (Nentwig et al 2010, Vaes-Petignat and Nentwig 2014, Kumschick et al 2015a, Rumlerová et al 2016. To achieve this goal, two comprehensive methods to assess socioeconomic and/or environmental impacts were proposed recently (Nentwig et al 2010.…”

“…These aspects are covered by the second scheme, the Generic Impact Scoring System (GISS; Nentwig et al 2010Nentwig et al , 2016 which was introduced in a study on mammals alien to Europe (Nentwig et al 2010) and then applied to other taxonomic groups (e.g. Kumschick and Nentwig 2010, Vaes-Petignat and Nentwig 2014, van der Veer and Nentwig 2014, Laverty et al 2015, Novoa et al 2016, Rumlerová et al 2016. While assessment of each additional group required some specific modifications and additional features were being included in GISS, the system remained generic (see Nentwig et al 2016 for summary and update).…”

Do alien invasive species and climate change foster conservation behaviour?

“…Consequently, freshwater ecosystems are today suffering rates of biodiversity loss even greater than those recorded in the most affected terrestrial biomes (Jenkins, 2003), and have attracted the attention of conservation biologists and ethologists. Introduced crayfish as well as several fish and molluscs have been the subject of much research to understand their behaviour and their impacts (Gherardi, 2010;van der Veer and Nentwig, 2015), leading to innovations and to the successful application of new control techniques in conservation actions (Gherardi et al, 2011;Aquiloni and Zanetti, 2014). The Louisiana red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii, one of the most widespread introduced species worldwide and highly invasive in European fresh waters, provides a powerful illustration (Gherardi, 2007).…”

Does rainbow trout justify its high rank among alien invasive species? Insights from a nationwide survey in Greece

“…So far, risk assessments of rainbow trout introductions in Europe have been based on general considerations about impacts on biodiversity, but with insufficient information on establishment rates. Rainbow trout has been listed among the worst invasive alien species in Europe (van der Veer & Nentwig, ) and has been included in the black lists of some countries (Essl et al, ; Gederaas, Moen, Skjelseth, & Larsen, ; Pergl et al, ). Recently it was proposed as a candidate for inclusion in the list of invasive alien species of Union concern (the Union List), according to the EU Regulation 1143/2014 (Nentwig, Bacher, Kumschick, Pyšek, & Vilà, ).…”