Sponsor: United States Geological Service with funding from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Award Dates: August 2021 – August 2022
Investigators: Wesley Daniel (USGS Fish Biologist-WARC), Charlie Martin (Research Assistant Professor, University of Florida), and Zoey Hendrickson (University of Florida)
Goals and Objectives
Invasive species are recognized globally as a major threat to native ecosystems and cost millions of dollars in management. Aquatic invasive species (AIS) are nearly impossible to eradicate once introduced and are considered especially problematic. Preventing initial introductions of AIS, essentially barring them from establishing, is the most effective way to avoid the negative impacts they impose. Despite current federal efforts, new introductions of AIS into the U.S. are reported each year, indicating that prevention measures for specific introduction pathways are either ineffective or non-existent. These pathways include importation into for the ornamental or pet trade and subsequent escape from activity, escape from use in aquaculture, an introduction via ballast water, and other unintentional hitchhiker pathways. The project will focus on primary introduction into the U.S. but will also examine the secondary spread of species within the U.S. across state borders.
To improve current prevention measures, this project will conduct a comprehensive review of the current state of management versus an ideal state (little to no AIS introductions) in the form of a gap analysis. Researchers will utilize the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database (NAS) to identify case studies for the gap analysis. The NAS database is a public resource that consists of introduction records for over 1380 aquatic species from 11 different groups including crustaceans, mollusks, amphibians, fishes, reptiles, and plants. The researchers will identify roughly 15-20 case studies from the database with species from each group. Results from the NAS database review and gap analysis will be used to inform 13 federal agencies as well as state agencies on what can be done to improve current AIS prevention.
Pic1 (right): Nyphoides cristata, Crested Floating-heart, Ann Murray UF/IFAS, Pic2 (left): Zebra Mussel and Quagga Mussel, Pic3 (below): Channa argus, Northern Snakehead, Ryan Hagerty, U.S. Fish, and Wildlife Service
Anticipated Project Outputs
This project will ultimately provide management recommendations for federal and state agencies to improve the prevention of AIS introductions. The results of our gap analysis will identify where improvements need to be made in the form of updates to current prevention measures or the creation of new policies where possible. Recommendations will be shared with the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force (ANSTF) (made up of 13 federal agencies). The research team will also explore existing regional and national prevention tools that could be used by federal and state agencies to help implement any new policy recommendations. This project will also create a set of metrics to measure the success of any new policies put in place based on recommendations from this study. Better prevention measures to keep AIS from establishing will serve to protect native species and ecosystems across the U.S. from the detrimental effects imposed by introduced aquatic invasive species.
Anticipated Project Outputs
This project will ultimately provide management recommendations for federal and state agencies to improve the prevention of AIS introductions. The results of our gap analysis will identify where improvements need to be made in the form of updates to current prevention measures or the creation of new policies where possible. Recommendations will be shared with the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force (ANSTF) (made up of 13 federal agencies). The research team will also explore existing regional and national prevention tools that could be used by federal and state agencies to help implement any new policy recommendations. This project will also create a set of metrics to measure the success of any new policies put in place based on recommendations from this study. Better prevention measures to keep AIS from establishing will serve to protect native species and ecosystems across the U.S. from the detrimental effects imposed by introduced aquatic invasive species.