Pilot Application of ‘Invasive Alien Species in Europe’ Smartphone App in the Danube Region

Nikola Marinković,Milcho Todorov,Marian Kenderov,Eugenio Gervasini,Momir Paunović,Kostadin Ignatov,Cristina Preda,Sven Schade,Irena Mitton,Zdravko Hubenov,Celia López-Cañizares,Teodora Trichkova,Ana Cristina Cardoso,Rumen Tomov,Dan Cogălniceanu,Ivan Botev,Florina Stănescu,Fabiano Antonio Spinelli,Konstantinos Tsiamis

doi:10.3390/w13212952

Abstract

The present pilot study tested and validated the use of the ‘Invasive Alien Species in Europe’ smartphone app (IASapp) in the Lower Danube Region. The study was conducted in three stages: (1) Testing the effectiveness of the app in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia by organizing information and field testing campaigns; (2) Improving and extending the functionality of the app and developing a list of the invasive alien species (IAS) of concern to the Danube River Basin (DRB); and (3) Testing the updated app during the Joint Danube Survey 4 campaign. Overall, 13 campaigns were carried out, during which seven aquatic IAS of EU concern and nine IAS relevant to the DRB were recorded. Currently, the developed new functionality of IASapp allows the recording of 64 IAS of DRB concern. The updated IASapp has an important role in increasing public awareness on IAS issues, as well as in enlarging the participation and output of citizen science in the IAS early detection, monitoring and reporting in the DRB. Therefore, the constant communication with existing stakeholder groups and establishment of new citizen science groups is crucial for increasing the effectiveness of using the IASapp in the Danube Region and tackling the IAS issues.

Highlights

Biological invasions are the consequence of an increasingly connected world, the rise in trade and size of human population [1]
The information campaigns and meetings with stakeholders were held in all three countries, while the reporting of species using the IASapp was mainly performed in Bulgaria
Nine campaigns were held in Bulgaria, one in Romania and one in Serbia

Summary

Introduction

Biological invasions are the consequence of an increasingly connected world, the rise in trade and size of human population [1]. Invasive alien species (IAS) have multiple environmental and socio-economic effects [2,3] and their management is increasingly costly [4]. Union (EU) is at least EUR 12 billion, but the cumulated costs probably reach EUR 20 billion per year [5,6]. Total costs of IAS in Europe summed to EUR 116.61 billion between 1960 and. 2020, with the majority (60%) being damage-related and impacting multiple sectors [7]. The Danube River, known as part of the Southern Invasion Corridor, is considered a major pathway for the spread of IAS in Europe [8,9,10].

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Conclusion