First record of Opuntia pubescens H.L.Wendland ex Pfeiffer, 1835 naturalised in South Africa

Abstract

This is the first attempt to outline the occurrence of selected invasive alien vertebrates in Greece, since up to now, there are no "official" or scientific reports except from sporadic sightings and anecdotal stories. Records on the occurrence of: Lithobates catesbeianus, Trachemys scripta (T. s. elegans and T. s. scripta), Neovison vison, Myocastor coypus, Nyctereutes procyonoides and Ondatra zibethicus were requested through a pan-Hellenic survey. According to the results, the coypu (Myocastor coypus) appears to be the most widely distributed of all species, having conquered practically all wetlands of Western and Central Greece with populations exceeding, in most cases, 20 individuals each. On the contrary, there is merely one unconfirmed record of the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) while there were no sightings at all for the muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus). The American mink (Neovison vison) was recorded in the northwestern part of Greece. Regarding the alien herpetofauna, the bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) seems to be still confined in Crete where it was originally introduced, while the red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta) appears mostly in Crete, Attiki prefecture, and a few more places, showing most probably an underestimated distribution.

The management of plants and their impact on monuments in historic gardens: Current threats and solutions

“…Most of them addressed the problem for managers to control non-native species in their gardens, especially when particularly invasive with recommendation to managers to counteract the risk for plant biodiversity of surrounding natural ecosystems. Historic and botanic gardens can be a source of plant invasion around the globe (Hulme, 2011;Cindi and Jaca, 2016) even higher than agriculture at least in the Mediterranean area (Sanz-Elorza et al, 2009). Most ornamental species in living collections around the globe are alien species (Hulme, 2011;van Kleunen et al, 2018).…”

“…ex Pfeiff. in South Africa (Cindi and Jaca, 2016), Lantana L. species in India (Kannan et al, 2013), and Wisteria Nutt. in the Southeastern United States (Trusty et al, 2007).…”

Characteristics and distribution of the <i>Opuntia</i> (Cactaceae) representatives naturalized in Crimea

“…В естественных условиях опунции произрастают в Юж-нои� и Севернои� Америке, Мексике Западнои� Индии, на Галапагосских островах (Pinkava, 2003;Bulot, 2007;Majure, Ervin, 2008). Многие виды были интродуцированы и широко используются как декоративные, пищевые, лекарственные растения в Европе, Африке, Азии, Австралии, на Канарских островах (Dean, Milton, 2000;Frawley, 2007;Erre et al, 2009;Walters et al, 2011;Cindi, Jaca, 2016). До 2014 г. было установлено, что не менее 27 видов (или 14%) рода Opuntia являются инвазионными растениями в различных регионах земного шара (Novoa et al, 2015).…”