Biological invasions in developing and developed countries: does one model fit all?

There is a strong bias concerning the regions of the globe where research on biological invasions is conducted, with notably lower representation of developing countries. However, in developing countries, effective management strategies to control invasions could be more beneficial in conserving global biodiversity since these countries tend to have larger, highly diverse natural habitats. Lower levels of development are seen as an obstacle to tackling biological invasions, but little thought is given to the advantages of developing countries in dealing with invasive species. We analyzed differences between developed and developing countries regarding the problem of invasive species and their historical and current patterns of international trade, disturbance levels and land use, research and monitoring, control and mitigation, and social awareness. Developed nations have some advantages, especially in levels of social awareness and means for controlling and studying exotics, but developing nations also enjoy important advantages given their lower levels of international trade and the availability of low-cost labor. Also, there is evidence that the process of economic development, which results in more efficient ways to transform landscapes and increases international trade, is strongly associated with increasing rates of biological invasion. Differences in data quality and availability between developed and developing countries make comparative analyses of biological invasions a difficult task. Thus, these differences creates a challenge in forming global strategies to deal with invasions. There have been calls for creating international plans to deal with invasive species, but we believe that it is important first to acknowledge the challenges and understand both the advantages and disadvantages of developing countries.     

Gaps in Border Controls Are Related to Quarantine Alien Insect Invasions in Europe

Alien insects are increasingly being dispersed around the world through international trade, causing a multitude of negative environmental impacts and billions of dollars in economic losses annually. Border controls form the last line of defense against invasions, whereby inspectors aim to intercept and stop consignments that are contaminated with harmful alien insects. In Europe, member states depend on one another to prevent insect introductions by operating a first point of entry rule – controlling goods only when they initially enter the continent. However, ensuring consistency between border control points is difficult because there exists no optimal inspection strategy. For the first time, we developed a method to quantify the volume of agricultural trade that should be inspected for quarantine insects at border control points in Europe, based on global agricultural trade of over 100 million distinct origin-commodity-species-destination pathways. This metric was then used to evaluate the performance of existing border controls, as measured by border interception results in Europe between 2003 and 2007. Alarmingly, we found significant gaps between the trade pathways that should be inspected and actual number of interceptions. Moreover, many of the most likely introduction pathways yielded none or very few insect interceptions, because regular interceptions are only made on only a narrow range of pathways. European countries with gaps in border controls have been invaded by higher numbers of quarantine alien insect species, indicating the importance of proper inspections to prevent insect invasions. Equipped with an optimal inspection strategy based on the underlying risks of trade, authorities globally will be able to implement more effective and consistent border controls.     

Space–time patterns during the establishment of a nonindigenous species

Increasing rates of global trade and travel have the invariable consequence of an increase in the likelihood of nonindigenous species arrival, and some new arrivals are successful in establishing themselves. Quantifying the pattern of establishment of nonindigenous species across both spatial and temporal scales is paramount in early detection efforts, yet very difficult to accomplish. Previous work in epidemiology has proposed methods for assessing the space–time properties of emerging infectious diseases by quantifying the degree of space–time clustering between individual cases. I tested the applicability of one such method commonly used in epidemiology, the Knox test for space–time interaction, to analyze rare abundance data from an isolated, newly-establishing gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, population in Minnesota, USA, and incorporated a bootstrap approach to quantify the space–time pattern in a random process that can be used to compare with results from empirical data. The use of the Knox test in assessing the establishment phase of biological invasions could potentially serve as an early warning system against new invaders, particularly for those with a known history of a repeated number of arrivals.     

Adventive eriophyoid mites: a global review of their impact, pathways, prevention and challenges

Eriophyoids have high potential as adventive mite species (AMS) because their small size make them difficult to detect, and can be easily distributed in world trade. Economic, social and environmental impact from adventive eriophyoid mites has been significant. Considerable attention has been given to adventive insect species while adventive mites have received little attention and little information is available for eriophyoids. This paper summarizes information on adventive eriophyoid mites, their impact, and the history of some important invasions. The status of adventive species of eriophyoids introduced as biological control agents of weeds is presented. A list of eriophyoid mites reported as invasive species worldwide is given. Pathways of concern and biosecurity actions to reduce the risk of eriophyoid mites are discussed. The need to raise public awareness of the risk and importance of these tiny organisms as AMS is emphasized. Scientific and technical challenges to deal with adventive eriophyoids are discussed.     

Going Cheap: Determinants of Bird Price in the Taiwanese Pet Market

BackgroundInternational wildlife trade is the largest emerging source of vertebrate invasive alien species. In order to prevent invasions, it is essential to understand the mechanics of trade and, in particular, which traded species are most likely to be released or escape into the wild. A species’ economic value is a key factor, because we expect cheaper species to be less assiduously secured against escaping, and more likely to be deliberately released. Here, we investigate determinants of the price of species in the Taiwanese bird trade. Taiwan is an international hub for bird trade, and several native species are threatened by alien bird species.MethodologyWe investigated the relationship between the traded species sale price in Taiwan and the species availability for trade (the number of birds for sale, geographic range size and their origin, conservation and CITES status) and traits (body size, coloration, song attractiveness). We used phylogenetic generalized least squares models, with multi-model inference, to assess the variables that are best related to the price of birds in the Taiwanese pet trade.

Principal Findings / Conclusions

We found that species available for sale in larger numbers, native to Taiwan, not globally endangered, and small-bodied are all relatively cheaper, as too are species lacking yellow coloration and without attractive songs. Our models of price revealed high levels of phylogenetic correlation, and hence that closely related species tended to be sold for similar prices. We suggest that, on the basis of price, native species are more likely to be deliberately or accidentally released than alien species. Nevertheless, our survey of bird shops recorded 160 species alien to Taiwan (7,631 individuals), several of which are for sale cheaply and in large numbers. Alien bird species in trade therefore present an ongoing, non-trivial invasion risk on the island.     

Evaluating extreme risks in invasion ecology: learning from banking compliance

Increasing international trade has exacerbated the risks of ecological damage due to invasive pests and diseases. For extreme events such as invasions of damaging exotic species or natural catastrophes, there are no or very few directly relevant data, so expert opinion must be relied on heavily. Expert opinion must be as fully informed and calibrated as possible – by available data, by other experts, and by the reasoned opinions of stakeholders. We survey a number of quantitative and non-quantitative methods that have shown promise for improving extreme risk analysis, particularly for assessing the risks of invasive pests and pathogens associated with international trade. We describe the legally inspired regulatory regime for banks, where these methods have been brought to bear on extreme 'operational risks'. We argue that an 'advocacy model' similar to that used in the Basel II compliance regime for bank operational risks and to a lesser extent in biosecurity import risk analyses is ideal for permitting the diversity of relevant evidence about invasive species to be presented and soundly evaluated. We recommend that the process be enhanced in ways that enable invasion ecology to make more explicit use of the methods found successful in banking.     

转基因生物及其产品的风险与管理

转基因生物及其新产品已经进入国际贸易,关于其风险性的争论甚为激烈。上前所知的风险主要是基于理论上的推测。本文介绍了世界各国对转基因生物及其产品的管理模式和一些国际组织的有关活动和规则,并对当前形势下我国应采取的对策提出了建议。     

Evidence from molecular markers and population genetic analyses suggests recent invasions of the Western North Pacific region by biotypes B and Q of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius)

Invasive events by Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) biotypes in various parts of the world are of continuing interest. The most famous is biotype B that has caused great economic losses globally. In addition, biotype Q has also recently been reported to be a new invasive pest. These two biotypes have been monitored for some time in the Western North Pacific region, but the invasive events and population genetic structures of these two biotypes are still not clear in this region. In this study, the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene was used to reconstruct a phylogenetic tree for identifying biotypes B and Q and to study the relationships between invasive events and ornamental plants. Population genetic analyses of mtCOI sequences were also used to study the genetic relationships within and between populations. A combination of a phylogenetic tree and haplotype analysis suggested the recent invasion of biotype Q in this region is related to the international ornamental trade from the Mediterranean region. Low levels of haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity indicate that the presence of biotypes B and Q in the Western North Pacific region are caused by multiple invasions. Hierarchical analysis of molecular variance supports the hypothesis of multiple invasions. In addition, high sequence identities and low genetic distances within and between populations of the two biotypes revealed that these invasive events occurred recently. The low levels of genetic differentiation revealed by pairwise F (ST) values between populations also suggests the invasions were recent. Therefore, results of this study suggested that biotypes B and Q entered this region through multiple recent invasions. A quarantine of agricultural crops may be necessary to prevent further invasions.     

Identifying Snake Species Threatened by Economic Exploitation and International Trade in China

It is important to identify endangered species from thousands of species and take conservation measures in time. Many researchers have reported declines and overexploitation of snake species, but it is difficult to identify the species requiring emergency concern. We tried to identify the snake species threatened by economic exploitation in mainland China through the following procedure: First, we identified 16 snake species in significant international trade through analyzing trade records; second, we chose 10 variables representing biological characteristics and economics factors. The values of these variables for each species were evaluated from 0 (minimum risk) to 3 (high risk). Three snake species protected by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) were also assessed. We then got the priority rank of these species by calculating their average scores. We found that among the species in significant international trade, except those CITES-listed ones, four snake species were at extremely high risk, while all other snake species in significant trade were endangered or vulnerable. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to classify the species into four groups according to their different biological and economic characteristics. This study provides a possible way to identify endangered species and to rank their conservation priority. The results of this paper can also be used as a priority sequence for taking conservation action, especially trade control measures.     

Shifting Trade Patterns as a Means of Reducing Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions

This article extends and applies the world trade model with bilateral trade (WTMBT), a linear program with any number of goods, factors, and regional trade partners that determines regional production, bilateral trade patterns, and region-specific prices on the basis of comparative advantage by minimizing factor use. The model provides a consistent analysis of the global production system, representing geographical location at a regional level, region-specific technologies at a sector level, emissions from production, and resource constraints and costs. An illustrative analysis investigates how changes in the geographic distribution of production could contribute to reducing global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and at what cost. The model provides a bridge between global objectives and their determinants and consequences in specific sectors in individual regions. Multi-objective analysis is used to construct a trade-off curve between global factor costs and CO₂ emissions. The relevance of both primal and dual solution variables is demonstrated. In particular, changes in goods prices and emissions are investigated. We conclude that the main impact of tightening carbon constraints is a substantial reduction in international trade accompanied by a shift away from regions most reliant on the combustion of coal. In addition to the analysis of the overall global trends, including the impact on prices, the implications of the global carbon constraint for one specific industry are investigated.     

Livestock Disease Management for Trading Across Different Regulatory Regimes

The maintenance of livestock health depends on the combined actions of many different actors, both within and across different regulatory frameworks. Prior work recognised that private risk management choices have the ability to reduce the spread of infection to trading partners. We evaluate the efficiency of farmers’ alternative biosecurity choices in terms of their own-benefits from unilateral strategies and quantify the impact they may have in filtering the disease externality of trade. We use bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) in England and Scotland as a case study, since this provides an example of a situation where contrasting strategies for BVD management occur between selling and purchasing farms. We use an agent-based bioeconomic model to assess the payoff dependence of farmers connected by trade but using different BVD management strategies. We compare three disease management actions: test-cull, test-cull with vaccination and vaccination alone. For a two-farm trading situation, all actions carried out by the selling farm provide substantial benefits to the purchasing farm in terms of disease avoided, with the greatest benefit resulting from test-culling with vaccination on the selling farm. Likewise, unilateral disease strategies by purchasers can be effective in reducing disease risks created through trade. We conclude that regulation needs to balance the trade-off between private gains from those bearing the disease management costs and the positive spillover effects on others.     

The advantages and disadvantages of being introduced

Introduced species, those dispersed outside their natural ranges by humans, now cause almost all biological invasions, i.e., entry of organisms into habitats with negative effects on organisms already there. Knowing whether introduction tends to give organisms specific ecological advantages or disadvantages in their new habitats could help understand and control invasions. Even if no specific species traits are associated with introduction, introduced species might out-compete native ones just because the pool of introduced species is very large (“global competition hypothesis”). Especially in the case of intentional introduction, high initial propagule pressure might further increase the chance of establishment, and repeated introductions from different source populations might increase the fitness of introduced species through hybridization. Intentional introduction screens species for usefulness to humans and so might select for rapid growth and reproduction or carry species to suitable habitats, all which could promote invasiveness. However, trade offs between growth and tolerance might make introduced species vulnerable to extreme climatic events and cause some invasions to be transient (“reckless invader hypothesis”). Unintentional introduction may screen for species associated with human-disturbed habitats, and human disturbance of their new habitats may make these species more invasive. Introduction and natural long-distance dispersal both imply that species have neither undergone adaptation in their new habitats nor been adapted to by other species there. These two characteristics are the basis for many well-known hypotheses about invasion, including the “biotic resistance”, “enemy release”, “evolution of increased competitive ability” and “novel weapon” hypotheses, each of which has been shown to help explain some invasions. To the extent that biotic resistance depends upon local adaption by native species, altering selection pressures could reduce resistance and promote invasion (“local adaptation hypothesis”), and restoring natural regimes could reverse this effect.     

The price of your soul: neural evidence for the non-utilitarian representation of sacred values

Sacred values, such as those associated with religious or ethnic identity, underlie many important individual and group decisions in life, and individuals typically resist attempts to trade off their sacred values in exchange for material benefits. Deontological theory suggests that sacred values are processed based on rights and wrongs irrespective of outcomes, while utilitarian theory suggests that they are processed based on costs and benefits of potential outcomes, but which mode of processing an individual naturally uses is unknown. The study of decisions over sacred values is difficult because outcomes cannot typically be realized in a laboratory, and hence little is known about the neural representation and processing of sacred values. We used an experimental paradigm that used integrity as a proxy for sacredness and which paid real money to induce individuals to sell their personal values. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we found that values that people refused to sell (sacred values) were associated with increased activity in the left temporoparietal junction and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, regions previously associated with semantic rule retrieval. This suggests that sacred values affect behaviour through the retrieval and processing of deontic rules and not through a utilitarian evaluation of costs and benefits.     

Challenges to planted forest health in developing economies

A number of strategies have been proposed to manage the increasing threat of insect pests to non-native plantation forests, but the implementation of these strategies can be especially challenging in developing economies, such as in countries of sub-Saharan Africa. As in other parts of the world, invasions of non-native insect pests in this region are increasing due to increased trade as well as inadequate quarantine regulations and implementation. Some of these invasions result in substantial socio-economic and environmental losses. In addition, new host associations of native insects on the non-native tree hosts continue to occur. Identification of these insect pests is becoming increasingly difficult due to declining taxonomic expertise, and a lack of resources and research capacity hinders the widespread and effective deployment of resistant trees and biological control agents. The necessity to engage with an extremely diverse stakeholder community also complicates implementing management strategies. We propose that a regional strategy is needed for developing regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, where limited resources can be optimized and shared risks managed collectively. This strategy should look beyond the standard recommendations and include the development of an inter-regional phytosanitary agency, exploiting new technologies to identify insect pests, and the use of “citizen science” projects. Local capacity is also needed to develop and test trees for pest tolerance and to deploy biological control agents. Ideally, research and capacity development should, at least initially, be concentrated in centres of excellence to reduce costs and optimize efforts.     

The role of global trade and transport network topology in the human‐mediated dispersal of alien species

More people and goods are moving further and more frequently via many different trade and transport networks under current trends of globalisation. These networks can play a major role in the unintended introduction of exotic species to new locations. With the continuing rise in global trade, more research attention is being focused on the role of networks in the spread of invasive species. This represents an emerging field of research in invasion science and the substantial knowledge being generated within other disciplines can provide ecologists with new tools with which to study invasions. For the first time, we synthesise studies from several perspectives, approaches and disciplines to derive the fundamental characteristics of network topology determining the likelihood of spread of organisms via trade and transport networks. These characteristics can be used to identify critical points of vulnerability within these networks and enable the development of more effective strategies to prevent invasions.     

Control malaria to help defeat poverty, says WHO

In a report by the WHO, interventions against malaria could help alleviate poverty in countries where the disease is rife, and aid in boosting economic growth. The WHO calls on the international community, private foundations, and international agencies to commit funds for malaria interventions and research. This call was made since malaria has long term effects on trade, tourism, foreign investment, and commerce. Moreover, repeated bouts of malaria add to costs through malnutrition and death among children and time off work among adults. In this light, WHO further suggests the setting up of a malaria vaccine and purchase fund to spur pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies into developing a vaccine. Furthermore, new therapeutic, preventive and diagnostic tools need to be developed, particularly drugs, insecticides and dipstick tests.     

The Importance of Stakeholder Engagement in Invasive Species Management: A Cross-jurisdictional Perspective in Ireland

The management of invasive non-native species is a frequent cause of conflict in the field of biodiversity conservation because perceptions of their costs and benefits differ among stakeholder groups. A lack of cohesion between scientific researchers, the commercial sector and policy makers lies at the root of a widespread failure to develop and implement sustainable management practices for invasive species. The crisis of this situation is intensified by drivers stemming from international conventions and directives to address invasive species issues. There are further direct conflicts between legislative instruments promoting biodiversity conservation on the one hand while liberalizing trade at the national, European and global level on the other. The island of Ireland provides graphic illustration of the importance of cross-jurisdictional approaches to biological invasions. Using primarily Irish examples in this review, we emphasize the importance of approaching risk assessment, risk reduction and control or eradication policies from a cost-efficient, highly flexible perspective, incorporating linkages between environmental, economic and social objectives. The need for consolidated policies between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is particularly acute, though few model cross-border mechanisms for such consolidation are available. The importance of engaging affected stakeholders through positive interactions is discussed with regard to reducing the currently fragmented nature of invasive species management between the two jurisdictions.     

The politics of assessing risk for biological invasions: the USA as a case study

The current regulation of biological invasions rests on an unwarranted presumption (that the invader will cause no harm) and on risk assessment procedures that are narrowly focused, subjective, often arbitrary and unquantified, and subject to political interference. Although this current approach dominates international treaties and most national policies, it has not stemmed the rising tide of biological invasions, as evidenced by several examples from the USA. Technical advances in measuring and predicting impacts of introduced species will improve risk assessments. Additionally, focusing squarely on the risks associated not only with a proposed species introduction, but also on the goals of the introduction and on alternative ways of achieving them, would lead to more-informed decisions permitting the introduction of a species and fewer problematic invaders. In assessing the alternatives to introductions, the precautionary principle should be given heavy weight, as should the distribution of possible costs and benefits.     

Invasive animals and wildlife pathogens in the United States: the economic case for more risk assessments and regulation

The United States faces numerous invasions by non-native animal species and wildlife pathogens that pose high risks to the economy, the environment, human health and wildlife health. Nevertheless, the Federal government spends less than $500,000 annually on preventing harmful animal invasions in its “injurious species” listing program under the Lacey Act, which can prohibit imports and interstate commerce in designated taxa. This program is ineffective; numerous costly invasions by intentionally-imported animals have occurred despite the Lacey Act. Additionally, the majority of emerging zoonotic diseases worldwide originate in wildlife and the role the wildlife trade plays in disease emergence is increasing over time. Recent findings demonstrate that conducting risk assessments for the wildlife trade is relatively inexpensive and they can provide net economic benefits for the nation. However, in order to accrue those benefits, dramatic policy improvements are needed centered around developing and funding a proactive, rapid, Federal risk assessment program.