Abstract
Invasive Alien Species (IAS) are known to be a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystem function and there is increasing evidence of their impacts on human health and economies globally. We undertook horizon scanning using expert-elicitation to predict arrivals of IAS that could have adverse human health or economic impacts on the island of Cyprus. Three hundred and twenty five IAS comprising 89 plants, 37 freshwater animals, 61 terrestrial invertebrates, 93 terrestrial vertebrates, and 45 marine species, were assessed during a two-day workshop involving thirty-nine participants to derive two ranked lists: (1) IAS with potential human health impacts (20 species ranked within two bands:1-10 species or 11-20 species); and, (2) IAS with potential economic impacts (50 species ranked in three bands of 1-10, 11-20 and 21-50). Five species of mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, Aedes flavopictus, Aedes japonicus and Culex quinquefasciatus) were considered a potential threat to both human health and economies. It was evident that the IAS identified through this process could potentially arrive through many pathways (25 and 23 pathways were noted for the top 20 IAS on the human health and economic impact lists respectively). The Convention on Biological Diversity Level II (subcategory) pathways Contaminant on plants, pet / aquarium / terrarium species (including live food for such species), hitchhikers in or on aeroplanes, hitchhikers in or on ship / boats, and vehicles were the main pathways that arose across both lists. We discuss the potential of horizon scanning lists to inform biosecurity policies and communication around IAS, highlighting the importance of increasing understanding amongst all stakeholders, including the public, to reduce the risks associated with predicted IAS arrivals.
Highlights
Invasive alien species (IAS), species introduced either intentionally or unintentionally by humans outside of their native range, and causing negative impacts to biodiversity, ecosystem services, economy and/or society, are a major concern globally (Russell et al, 2017; Pauchard et al, 2018; Díaz et al, 2019; Stoett et al, 2019)
There are examples of poisonous or venomous marine IAS causing direct health impacts, e.g., the venomous striped eel catfish Plotosus lineatus was responsible for 10% of the marine organismrelated injuries experienced by fishermen off the coast of Israel (Gweta et al, 2008)
A total of 325 IAS were compiled into a long-list for consideration during the human health and economic impacts workshop
Summary
Invasive alien species (IAS), species introduced either intentionally or unintentionally by humans outside of their native range, and causing negative impacts to biodiversity, ecosystem services, economy and/or society, are a major concern globally (Russell et al, 2017; Pauchard et al, 2018; Díaz et al, 2019; Stoett et al, 2019). Invasive alien species can have direct negative impacts on human health through disease transmission, for example certain mosquito species (Moore and Mitchell, 1997), or through having highly allergenic pollen as is the case with some plants (Samson et al, 2017; Lazzaro et al, 2018). Costs of direct impacts and management of IAS to agriculture, forestry and fisheries were estimated at €12.5 billion in Europe in 2009, but this was considered a conservative estimate (Kettunen et al, 2009). In Great Britain, the cost to the economy incurred by IAS was estimated at £1.7 billion in 2010 (Williams et al, 2010)
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