Water diversions facilitate spread of non-native species

Zhan, Aibin; Zhang, Lei; Xia, Ziqiang; Ni, Ping; Xiong, Wei; Chen, Yiyong; Haffner, G. Douglas; MacIsaac, Hugh J.

doi:10.1007/s10530-015-0940-1

Cited by 48 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…There are many cases of artificial waterways connecting distinct drainage basins in which associated risks for biodiversity were not taken into account (Zhan et al. ). For instance, the Brazilian government plans to transfer water between isolated river basins to combat the effects of a severe drought without accounting for environmental consequences (Vitule et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The imperiled fish fauna in the Nicaragua Canal zone

Härer

Torres‐Dowdall

Meyer

2016

Conservation Biology

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Large‐scale infrastructure projects commonly have large effects on the environment. The planned construction of the Nicaragua Canal will irreversibly alter the aquatic environment of Nicaragua in many ways. Two distinct drainage basins (San Juan and Punta Gorda) will be connected and numerous ecosystems will be altered. Considering the project's far‐reaching environmental effects, too few studies on biodiversity have been performed to date. This limits provision of robust environmental impact assessments. We explored the geographic distribution of taxonomic and genetic diversity of freshwater fish species (Poecilia spp., Amatitlania siquia, Hypsophrys nematopus, Brycon guatemalensis, and Roeboides bouchellei) across the Nicaragua Canal zone. We collected population samples in affected areas (San Juan, Punta Gorda, and Escondido drainage basins), investigated species composition of 2 drainage basins and performed genetic analyses (genetic diversity, analysis of molecular variance) based on mitochondrial cytb. Freshwater fish faunas differed substantially between drainage basins (Jaccard similarity = 0.33). Most populations from distinct drainage basins were genetically differentiated. Removing the geographic barrier between these basins will promote biotic homogenization and the loss of unique genetic diversity. We found species in areas where they were not known to exist, including an undescribed, highly distinct clade of live bearing fish (Poecilia). Our results indicate that the Nicaragua Canal likely will have strong impacts on Nicaragua's freshwater biodiversity. However, knowledge about the extent of these impacts is lacking, which highlights the need for more thorough investigations before the environment is altered irreversibly.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The imperiled fish fauna in the Nicaragua Canal zone

Härer

Torres‐Dowdall

Meyer

2016

Conservation Biology

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“…Recent examples of fish invasions across IBT pathways can be found all over the world, including Australia (Sinclair Knight Merz, 2008), Brazil (Bellafronte et al, 2010;Silveira, Ferrer, Becker, & Hartz, 2017), China (Qin et al, 2019;Zhan et al, 2015), South Africa (Kadye & Booth, 2013) and the United States (Howard & Booth, 2016;Swift, Howard, Mulder, Pondella, & Keegan, 2015). The prevalence of invasions in IBT systems indicates that facilitated movement can occur for certain fishes.…”

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confidence: 99%

A review of potential factors promoting fish movement in inter‐basin water transfers, with emergent patterns from a trait‐based risk analysis for a large‐scale project in china

Schmidt

Wang

Ren

et al. 2019

Ecology of Freshwater Fish

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Inter‐basin water transfers create new pathways between previously disjunct systems and communities. If fish movement occurs, it can lead to invasion or altered regional connectivity patterns, which could induce biotic/genetic homogenisation or synchronisation. Understanding ecological factors promoting movement is critical for predicting potential impacts during project planning, to assess ongoing effects, and to develop mediation strategies. Potential characteristics influencing movement rates were reviewed, including intrinsic traits that increase passive entrainment or active dispersal rates, extrinsic traits of the connected environments and their interactions. In order to examine patterns among these potentially influencing characteristics, a trait‐based screening method for movement and invasion risk was developed to analyse linked communities in a database from a large‐scale inter‐basin water diversion in China. Groups of fishes that scored high in the risk assessment were compared with worldwide examples of entrainment in inter‐basin water transfer systems or smaller‐scale diversions to examine emergent patterns of shared ecological characteristics. Specific traits that were most often shared in these groups, indicating a higher likelihood of movement in water diversions, include the following: a smaller body size, high adult or larval abundance, migratory behaviour, generalist and pelagic habitat preferences, and a high reproductive output. The synthesis of factors identified in this research can be used to guide future empirical studies to fill knowledge gaps regarding ecological impacts of inter‐basin water transfers or other smaller‐scale diversions on local communities and ecosystems.

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“…Offshore wind farms also provide novel fouling habitats and "stepping stones" for invasions (Adams et al 2014;De Mesel et al 2015). Similarly, frequent droughts lead to efforts to provide secure water sources to urban populations, including construction of dams, canals, and other water-diverting mechanisms that can spread non-native species (Strayer 2010;Zhan et al 2015;Gallardo and Aldridge 2018).…”

Section: Climate Adaptation: Planting Non-native Species and Adding Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

Four priority areas to advance invasion science in the face of rapid environmental change

et al. 2021

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Unprecedented rates of introduction and spread of non-native species pose burgeoning challenges to biodiversity, natural resource management, regional economies, and human health. Current biosecurity efforts are failing to keep pace with globalization, revealing critical gaps in our understanding and response to invasions. Here, we identify four priority areas to advance invasion science in the face of rapid global environmental change. First, invasion science should strive to develop a more comprehensive framework for predicting how the behavior, abundance, and interspecific interactions of non-native species vary in relation to conditions in receiving environments and how these factors govern the ecological impacts of invasion. A second priority is to understand the potential synergistic effects of multiple co-occurring stressors – particularly involving climate change – on the establishment and impact of non-native species. Climate adaptation and mitigation strategies will need to consider the possible consequences of promoting non-native species, and appropriate management responses to non-native species will need to be developed. The third priority is to address the taxonomic impediment. The ability to detect and evaluate invasion risks is compromised by a growing deficit in taxonomic expertise, which cannot be adequately compensated by new molecular technologies alone. Management of biosecurity risks will become increasingly challenging unless academia, industry, and governments train and employ new personnel in taxonomy and systematics. Fourth, we recommend that internationally cooperative biosecurity strategies consider the bridgehead effects of global dispersal networks, in which organisms tend to invade new regions from locations where they have already established. Cooperation among countries to eradicate or control species established in bridgehead regions should yield greater benefit than independent attempts by individual countries to exclude these species from arriving and establishing.

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Water diversions facilitate spread of non-native species

Cited by 48 publications

References 23 publications

The imperiled fish fauna in the Nicaragua Canal zone

The imperiled fish fauna in the Nicaragua Canal zone

A review of potential factors promoting fish movement in inter‐basin water transfers, with emergent patterns from a trait‐based risk analysis for a large‐scale project in china

Four priority areas to advance invasion science in the face of rapid environmental change

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