Abstract
Increased trade and travel have resulted in an increasing rate of introduction of biological organisms to new regions. Urban environments, such as cities, are hubs for human activities facilitating the introduction of alien species. Additionally, cities are susceptible to invading organisms as a result of the highly altered and transformed nature of these environments. Despite best efforts at prevention, new incursions of alien species will occur; therefore, prioritising incursion response efforts is essential. This study explores these ideas to identify priorities for strategic prevention planning in a South African city, Durban (eThekwini), by combining data from alien species watch lists, environmental criteria, and the pathways which facilitate the introduction of alien species in the city. Three species (with known adverse impacts elsewhere in the world) were identified as highly likely to be introduced and established in Durban (Alternantheraphiloxeroides,LithobatescatesbeianusandSolenopsisinvicta). These species are most likely to enter at either the Durban Harbour; pet and aquarium stores; or plant nurseries and garden centres – therefore active surveillance should target these sites as well as adjacent major river systems and infrastructure. We suggest that the integrated approach (species, pathways, and sites) demonstrated in this study will help prioritise resources to detect the most likely and damaging future incursions of alien species.
Highlights
Human-related activities such as trade and travel have facilitated the increased introduction of biological organisms outside their native range (Hulme 2009, Tatem 2009, Faulkner et al 2016a, Hill et al 2016)
We identified likely points of first naturalisation as sites to monitor for the presence of the three species: the Durban Harbour was identified as a site to monitor for the presence of A. philoxeroides (Figure B1) and S. invicta (Figure B4)
River systems adjacent to points of introduction are identified for surveillance efforts for A. philoxeroides (Figure B1), L. catesbeianus (Figure B3) and S. invicta (Figure B4) because of these species’ dependency on readily available water resources for survival
Summary
Human-related activities such as trade and travel have facilitated the increased introduction of biological organisms outside their native range (Hulme 2009, Tatem 2009, Faulkner et al 2016a, Hill et al 2016). The capacity to respond to the threat of biological invasions is limited, severely so in some cases (Early et al 2016). It is impractical and even undesirable to prevent every alien species from being introduced into a new region. For these reasons, efforts to prevent biological invasions need to be prioritised
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