Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit Research Articles

Lower Lethal Temperature for Arapaima Arapaima gigas: Potential Implications for Culture and Establishment in Florida

AbstractArapaima Arapaima gigas is a large, predatory, obligate air‐breathing fish native to the Amazon River basin. Aquaculture producers have identified this species as a candidate for commercial culture in Florida. For this species, a preliminary risk assessment using the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit indicated a medium to high risk of invasiveness to parts of central and southern Florida. However, data on lower lethal temperature were not available, which was a data gap identified by the risk assessment. Lower lethal temperature is an important physiological characteristic, limiting not only the culture of tropical fishes in subtropical Florida but also the potential for establishing nonnative populations. This study is the first known experimental test of low‐temperature tolerance for Arapaima. Our findings suggest Arapaima will not survive temperatures at or below 16°C. When compared with established nonnative fishes in Florida, this species is extremely cold sensitive, similar to that of Butterfly Peacock Bass Cichla ocellaris. Although this could present challenges to producers, it might also mitigate some concerns of regulatory staff charged with managing aquatic invasive species.

Risk Screening of Arapaima, a New Species Proposed for Aquaculture in Florida

AbstractAgencies have a growing range of options for risk assessment of nonnative species varying from comprehensive assessments to rapid risk screens. Risk screens identify high‐risk and low‐risk species and those where more evaluation is warranted. Despite development and testing of risk‐screening methods, there is little information in the literature regarding their implementation in management decisions. We used a screening tool, the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK), coupled with a detailed literature review to evaluate the risks of the genus Arapaima across Florida, where there is growing interest in its culture as a food fish. We found a medium risk of invasiveness overall, the greatest risk being to subtropical south Florida due to the low cold tolerance of Arapaima that it would experience further north. Ultimately the agency determined that a combination of literature review and the risk screen was sufficient to inform their decision making and that current conditional species regulations provided adequate risk mitigation to allow culture. The agency saved time and money by developing background information and a preliminary estimate of risk prior to engaging in comprehensive assessment. Flexibility allows agencies to tailor their risk assessment and management processes to different risk environments and to better inform decision making.Received October 29, 2014; accepted June 15, 2015

Risk assessment of the ornamental fish trade in Mexico: analysis of freshwater species and effectiveness of the FISK (Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit)

Aquarium trade has been recognized as one of the major pathways of introduction of non-native fishes into new regions. Nearly 43 million freshwater ornamental fish of different species and varieties are annually commercialized in Mexico and there is a high probability for the establishment of some of these species because of their invasive attributes and the diverse climatic zones existing in the country. Within this context, the identification of high-risk species is of paramount importance considering the potential threat to Mexico’s great biological diversity. In the present study 700 freshwater aquarium fish species commonly imported and produced in the country were filtered for synonyms/varieties, resulting in 368 species, which where submitted to revision for invasive reports using specialized invasive species databases. This allowed ranking the main invasive species and the top 30 were subjected to risk analysis using the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK). Calibration of FISK was carried out after generating the reports. A receiver operating characteristic curve was made to determine the FISK ability to discriminate between invasive and non-invasive species in Mexico. Thereafter, Youden’s index was calculated and a threshold of 24 was obtained, representing the cut-off value for defining high-risk species. A total of 17 species out of 30 were classified under a high-risk category, among them several species of the genus Xiphophorus, Pterygoplichthys and Poecilia. Most of the species were native to Asia, Central and South America. Some of these species are already invasive in Mexico.

Risks to stocks of native trout of the genus Salmo (Actinopterygii: Salmoniformes: Salmonidae) of Serbia and management for their recovery

Background. Insufficiently controlled stocking compromises the high diversity of wild trout stocks of Serbia. Native brown trout, Salmo cf. trutta Linnaeus, 1758, and Macedonian trout, Salmo macedonicus (Karaman, 1924), reveal remarkable diversity assessed using the mtDNA molecular markers, with the eight exclusive and several more widely spread haplotypes found in them. Four alien trout species and strains and one strain of Macedonian trout were introduced into the home areas of the native wild trout stocks in Serbia. In addition to them, wild trout stocks were also affected by farmed rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792), and brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill, 1815), that regularly escape to streams, and from Ohrid trout, Salmo letnica (Karaman, 1924), and Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus (Linnaeus, 1758), stocked into streams and reservoirs. Risk of invasiveness that wild trout stocks are exposed to and their restoration were driving forces for this study. Materials and methods. Trout specimens from the Jerma River sampled in 2013 were additionally analysed for their mtDNA haplotype. The invasiveness potential of eleven alien trout species and strains introduced by stocking into wild brown- and Macedonian trout stocks in Serbia were assessed with the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK). Results. Five of introduced trout species and strains were classified as having a high risk (sensu lato) and two of them as having a high risk (sensu stricto) of being (or becoming) invasive. Conclusion. Progressively rising and insufficiently controlled fishing and management with stocking of non-indigenous trout in wild brown trout stocks are the main current threats to the original diversity. Alien brown trout strains cross breed with native brown trout and incorporate into their stocks. Currently, feral rainbow-, brook-, and Ohrid trout reveal great invasive potential by naturalization in waters heavily stocked with them. The fisheries measures aiming to control and/or to eradicate alien strains of brown trout involve the restriction of stocking, landing of trout suspected as of alien strain or species, as well as the stringent control of stocking material used for the restorative stocking. They are mandatory, regarding the conservational dependence of wild brown trout stocks.

Risks to stocks of native trout of the genus Salmo (Actinopterygii: Salmoniformes: Salmonidae) of Serbia and management for their recovery

Background. Insufficiently controlled stocking compromises the high diversity of wild trout stocks of Serbia. Native brown trout, Salmo cf. trutta Linnaeus, 1758, and Macedonian trout, Salmo macedonicus (Karaman, 1924), reveal remarkable diversity assessed using the mtDNA molecular markers, with the eight exclusive and several more widely spread haplotypes found in them. Four alien trout species and strains and one strain of Macedonian trout were introduced into the home areas of the native wild trout stocks in Serbia. In addition to them, wild trout stocks were also affected by farmed rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792), and brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill, 1815), that regularly escape to streams, and from Ohrid trout, Salmo letnica (Karaman, 1924), and Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus (Linnaeus, 1758), stocked into streams and reservoirs. Risk of invasiveness that wild trout stocks are exposed to and their restoration were driving forces for this study. Materials and methods. Trout specimens from the Jerma River sampled in 2013 were additionally analysed for their mtDNA haplotype. The invasiveness potential of eleven alien trout species and strains introduced by stocking into wild brown- and Macedonian trout stocks in Serbia were assessed with the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK). Results. Five of introduced trout species and strains were classified as having a high risk (sensu lato) and two of them as having a high risk (sensu stricto) of being (or becoming) invasive. Conclusion. Progressively rising and insufficiently controlled fishing and management with stocking of non-indigenous trout in wild brown trout stocks are the main current threats to the original diversity. Alien brown trout strains cross breed with native brown trout and incorporate into their stocks. Currently, feral rainbow-, brook-, and Ohrid trout reveal great invasive potential by naturalization in waters heavily stocked with them. The fisheries measures aiming to control and/or to eradicate alien strains of brown trout involve the restriction of stocking, landing of trout suspected as of alien strain or species, as well as the stringent control of stocking material used for the restorative stocking. They are mandatory, regarding the conservational dependence of wild brown trout stocks.

Evaluation of the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK v2) for peninsular Florida

The Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK) is becoming a popular tool for rapid risk identification of freshwater fishes, with published applications now spanning the globe. Upgrades (i.e., FISK v2) were completed recently to ensure the incorporation of broader climatic zones for its application to the sub-tropical climate of peninsular Florida. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the ability of FISK v2 to identify the potential risk of non-native fishes being invasive in peninsular Florida. The 95 fishes selected for screening were assigned an independent invasiveness ranking using information provided by FishBase and the Invasive Species Specialist Group database. Risk screenings using FISK v2 were then completed separately and independently by five assessors resulting in one to five screenings per taxon. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis identified a mean threshold value of 10.25 to distinguish between invasive fishes and noninvasive fishes, which, when compared to the independent invasiveness standard, correctly classified 76% of invasive fishes and 88% of noninvasive fishes. This threshold value was considerably lower than many other published calibrations of FISK, emphasizing the importance of regionally focused risk screening. Further supporting these results, 18 (72%) of the high risk species are either established in Florida or have elevated regulatory status by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Overall, FISK v2 has proved that it would be a valuable tool for informing management decisions related to the risks of non-native freshwater fishes.

Assessment of the Risks of Transgenic Fluorescent Ornamental Fishes to the United States Using the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK)

AbstractThree species of transgenic fluorescent ornamental fish are commercially available to the public in the United States—Zebra Danio Danio rerio, Black Tetra Gymnocorymbus ternetzi, and Tiger Barb Systomus tetrazona. Despite qualitative assessments of the risks of these transgenic fishes by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and two state agencies, critics argue that the risk assessment and approval processes were not transparent and that the results were never published or otherwise open to scientific scrutiny. We used an internationally recognized risk screening tool, the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK), to provide a transparent, peer‐reviewed assessment for the conterminous United States. We found that the three transgenic fluorescent ornamental fishes in question represent a low risk of invasiveness. Any risk is limited to the warmer regions of the country. No potential for hybridization with native species, little history of invasiveness elsewhere, a lack of traits associated with persistence, and small body size coupled with predation‐enhancing fluorescence all indicate that the ability of these species to become established and have impacts is limited even in warm regions. Our finding of low risk is consistent with the results of unpublished, qualitative agency assessments using expert panels or in‐house expertise. The risk screens identified few data gaps, areas of important uncertainty, or potentially elevated risk levels, thus suggesting that there would be limited gain to committing resources to a full risk assessment. A low‐risk result further indicates little need for risk management actions in addition to those already being taken. Risk screens such as FISK can have high value for managers because they capture important elements of risk, providing vital information for assessment and management decisions with relatively small investments in time and funding.

Risk screening of non-native freshwater fishes at the frontier between Asia and Europe: first application in Turkey of the fish invasiveness screening kit

The aim of the present study was to assess the invasive potential of introduced non-native and translocated fishes in Turkey (Anatolia and Thrace) by applying the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK), a risk identification tool for freshwater fishes. From independent evaluations by two assessors of 35 species, calibration of FISK for Turkey identified a threshold score of 23, which reliably distinguished between potentially invasive (high risk) and potentially non-invasive (medium to low risk) fishes for Anatolia (Asia) and Thrace (Europe). No species was categorized as ‘low risk’, 18 species were categorized as ‘medium risk’ and 17 as ‘high risk’ (two being ‘moderately high risk’, nine ‘high risk’, and six ‘very high risk’). The highest scoring species was gibel carp Carassius gibelio, whereas the lowest scoring species was Caucasian dwarf goby Knipowitschia caucasica, a translocated species. Assessor certainty in their responses averaged overall between ‘mostly uncertain’ and ‘mostly certain’, with red piranha Pygocentrus nattereri and topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva achieving the lowest and highest certainty values, respectively, and with overall significant differences in certainty between assessors. The results of the present study indicate that FISK is a useful and viable tool for identifying potentially invasive non-native fishes in Turkey, a country characterized by natural biogeographical frontiers.

The Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK) for Non‐Native Freshwater Fishes—A Summary of Current Applications

for terrestrial plants of Australia and New Zealand. Based on the generally accepted premise that weeds in one part of the world will have an increased chance of being weedy (i.e., invasive) in other areas with similar environmental conditions, the WRA’s question and answer scoring system provided a conceptual, semi-quantitative basis from which to develop similar screening tools for a range of aquatic species. (2) Funded by the U.K. Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), five screening tools were developed from the WRA template, with permission from the original authors of the WRA: the freshwater Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK), a variation of FISK for non-native marine fishes (MFISK), the Freshwater Invertebrate Invasiveness Screening Kit (FI-ISK), a variation of FI-ISK for marine invertebrates (MI-ISK), and the Amphibian Invasiveness Screening Kit. Of these, the FISK for freshwater fishes was the first to be calibrated, (3) with subsequent applications of FISK in Belgium, (4) Belarus, (5) Japan, (6) Brazil, (7) and Mexico. (8) All but one of these subsequent applications involved a single assessor for each species, and the threshold value (i.e., 19.0) from the initial U.K. calibration (3) was used to distinguish between species classed as medium or as high risk of being invasive. The initial FISK calibration involved two assessors and focused specifically on England and Wales as the “risk

Risk assessment of non-native fishes in the Balkans Region using FISK, the invasiveness screening tool for non-native freshwater fishes

A high level of freshwater fish endemism in the Balkans Region emphasizes the need for non-native species risk assessments to inform management and control measures, with pre-screening tools, such as the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK) providing a useful first step. Applied to 43 non-native and translocated freshwater fishes in four Balkan countries, FISK reliably discriminated between invasive and non-invasive species, with a calibration threshold value of 9.5 distinguishing between species of medium and high risk sensu lato of becoming invasive. Twelve of the 43 species were assessed by scientists from two or more Balkan countries, and the remaining 31 species by a single assessor. Using the 9.5 threshold, three species were classed as low risk, 10 as medium risk, and 30 as high risk, with the latter category comprised of 26 moderately high risk, three high risk, and one very high risk species. Confidence levels in the assessments were relatively constant for all species, indicating concordance amongst assessors.

First Application of FISK, the Freshwater Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit, in Northern Europe: Example of Southern Finland

The climatic conditions of north temperate countries pose unique influences on the rates of invasion and the potential adverse impacts of non-native species. Methods are needed to evaluate these risks, beginning with the pre-screening of non-native species for potential invasives. Recent improvements to the Fish Invasiveness Scoring Kit (FISK) have provided a means (i.e., FISK v2) of identifying potentially invasive non-native freshwater fishes in virtually all climate zones. In this study, FISK is applied for the first time in a north temperate country, southern Finland, and calibrated to determine the appropriate threshold score for fish species that are likely to pose a high risk of being invasive in this risk assessment area. The threshold between "medium" and "high" risk was determined to be 22.5, which is slightly higher than the original threshold for the United Kingdom (i.e., 19) and that determined for a FISK application in southern Japan (19.8). This underlines the need to calibrate such decision-support tools for the different areas where they are employed. The results are evaluated in the context of current management strategies in Finland regarding non-native fishes.

Colonisation of the Rhine basin by non-native gobiids: an update of the situation in France

Three of the four species of non-native gobiids currently reported in the Rhine basin were recently recorded in France: the Western tubenose goby in 2007, the bighead goby in 2010 and the round goby in 2011. The bighead goby and the round goby displayed a very high rate of range expansion, suggesting a human-assisted colonisation through inland navigation. An assessment of the invasiveness potential by the FISK (Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit) reveals a medium risk for the Western tubenose goby, while the bighead goby and the round goby are at high risk of becoming invasive in France. This assessment is consistent with our observations since there has been a steady increase in the range of the Western tubenose goby, although in low numbers, while the relative abundance of bighead goby and round goby, recently arrived in the French part of the Rhine River and Moselle River, can be high. Given their fast expansion, it can be assumed that these species will soon reach other French basins, particularly in the south (Rhone basin) and in the west (Seine basin), and the implementation of measures to limit their spread should be considered.

Revisions of the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK) for its Application in Warmer Climatic Zones, with Particular Reference to Peninsular Florida

The initial version (v1) of the Fish Invasiveness Scoring Kit (FISK) was adapted from the Weed Risk Assessment of Pheloung, Williams, and Halloy to assess the potential invasiveness of nonnative freshwater fishes in the United Kingdom. Published applications of FISK v1 have been primarily in temperate-zone countries (Belgium, Belarus, and Japan), so the specificity of this screening tool to that climatic zone was not noted until attempts were made to apply it in peninsular Florida. To remedy this shortcoming, the questions and guidance notes of FISK v1 were reviewed and revised to improve clarity and extend its applicability to broader climatic regions, resulting in changes to 36 of the 49 questions. In addition, upgrades were made to the software architecture of FISK to improve overall computational speed as well as graphical user interface flexibility and friendliness. We demonstrate the process of screening a fish species using FISK v2 in a realistic management scenario by assessing the Barcoo grunter Scortum barcoo (Terapontidae), a species whose management concerns are related to its potential use for aquaponics in Florida. The FISK v2 screening of Barcoo grunter placed the species into the lower range of medium risk (score = 5), suggesting it is a permissible species for use in Florida under current nonnative species regulations. Screening of the Barcoo grunter illustrates the usefulness of FISK v2 as a proactive tool serving to inform risk management decisions, but the low level of confidence associated with the assessment highlighted a dearth of critical information on this species.

Non-native fishes of Belarus: diversity, distribution, and risk classification using the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK)

As of the end of 2008, 25 species of non-native fishes have been documented in the Republic of Belarus. Of these, 17 (68%) species were deliberately introduced for aquaculture, six (24%) species invaded from the adjacent territories by natural dispersal, and two (8%) species were likely introduced accidentally. During the 20th century, the number of non-native fishes in Belarus increased exponentially, resulting in significant shifts in taxonomic composition of the country's ichthyofauna. For the first time, we assessed the invasive potential of the introduced fishes by applying a uniform protocol, the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK). Based on the total FISK scores, all the non-native fishes in Belarus were classified into two groups: high and medium risk of becoming invasive. In terms of the economic sectors at risk ('aquacultural/fisheries', 'environmental', and 'nuisance'), all species were classified into three distinct groups. The highest risk to all of these sectors wa s posed by the brown bullhead Ameiurus nebulosus Le Sueur, 1819, gibel carp Carassius gibelio (Bloch, 1782), round goby Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814), Amur sleeper Perccottus glenii Dybowski, 1877, and topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846). The two risk categories identified in the present study can be used in prioritizing the resources for the management of non-native fish species of Belarus and in countries with similar environmental conditions.