Methods for alien species impact assessment: applications in the Mediterranean Sea
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Biological invasions constitute a major driver for ecosystem changes, affecting their structure and functioning. After their establishment in new regions, alien species can become invasive and cause severe impacts on the recipient ecosystems. Invasive species may affect the structure and composition of local communities, the provision of ecosystem services, local economies and human health. The current trend of new species introductions around the world is continuously accelerating, driven by the increasing rate of human mobility. Additionally, biological invasions’ consequences can be further intensified by the simultaneous action of other environmental stressors such as climate change. Still, alien species impacts can also be positive for recipient ecosystems as they can occupy empty niches and provide lost ecosystem functions or benefit humans with various ecosystem services such as food provision. Robust impact assessment techniques are needed to accurately understand alien species’ effects on the modern world and promote the appropriate biological invasions management strategies. The Mediterranean Sea is a global biological invasions hotspot, highly impacted by the effects of invasive alien species. At the same time, the Mediterranean Sea constitutes an important biodiversity hotspot that is undergoing significant alterations in its food-webs and ecosystem functions due to the rapid establishment of marine alien species. Humans are also influenced by biological invasions in the region, adapting their activities based on expected outcomes, either avoiding or actively engaging with alien species. The EU Regulation 1143/2014 stipulates specific measures “to prevent, minimize and mitigate the adverse impact on biodiversity of the introduction and spread within the Union, both intentional and unintentional, of invasive alien species”. Article 19 of the regulation pertains to managing widely spread invasive alien species of Union concern, and it mandates that the management measures should be proportional to the severity of the environmental impact. The current Doctoral thesis assessed alien species’ impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services and human health in the Mediterranean Sea. Impact assessment was conducted using a range of methods, including literature research, systematic assessment frameworks, field surveys, experiments and impact mapping with the goal of advancing the current understanding of alien species’ impacts on Mediterranean ecosystems. The methods employed aimed to assess alien species impacts in the Mediterranean Sea and provide the necessary knowledge and tools to enhance the practices of biological invasions management in the Mediterranean Sea.
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7214036007