Ricciardi, A., W.M. Steiner, R.N. Mack, and D. Simberloff, 2000. Toward a Global Information System for Invasive Species, Dalhousie University.

Reprinted with permission from BioScience (2000) 50(3): 239-244

Toward a Global Information System for Invasive Species

The growing frequency and impact of biological invasions worldwide threaten biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, resource availability, national economies, and human health (Ruesink et al. 1995, Simberloff 1996, Vitousek et al. 1997). Organisms are spreading into new regions at unprecedented rates. As a result, hundreds to thousands of nonindigenous species of invertebrates, vertebrates, plants, bacteria, and fungi have become established in all but the most remote areas of the planet (Vitousek et al. 1997). Recent examples are abundant and, in some cases, alarming. Cholera bacteria and toxic dinoflagellates have been discovered in the ballast waters of cargo ships (McCarthy and Khambaty 1994, Hallegraeff 1998). Asian tiger mosquitos--vectors of yellow fever and encephalitis--have spread to new continents in imported truck tires (Moore et al. 1988). Pasture and crop lands in Australia are being invaded by Parthenium, an aggressive Caribbean weed that causes severe allergic reactions in livestock and humans (Evans 1997). Rapid and widespread dieoffs of native freshwater mussels are occurring in the wake of the zebra mussel invasion in North America (Ricciardi et al. 1998). [AQ4] Hardwood trees in American cities are being killed by Asian longhorned beetles introduced with wooden packing crates (Haack et al. 1997).
    Every year, one-fourth of the US agricultural gross national product is lost to the impact and control costs of a growing variety of foreign pests (Simberloff 1996). The problem will likely worsen with time because of climatic changes that promote species migrations (Dukes and Mooney 1999) and expanding world trade, which shuttles organisms both deliberately and unintentionally across natural geographic barriers via air, land, and ship traffic. Even now, the accelerated pace of international trade overburdens risk assessment, inspection, and the law enforcement needed to prevent harmful introductions (Jenkins 1996). Both early detection and effective control depend on the availability of up-to-date information that keeps pace with new invasion threats.
    Retrieving critical information about the spread, impact, and control of invasive species has always been difficult because much of this information is buried in disciplinary journals from many different fields (e.g., ecology, weed science, crop science, wildlife management, and biogeography) or in obscure government documents and technical reports ("gray literature") that are not widely accessible. An increasing amount of information is also being stored in electronic repositories. The diffuse distribution and variable quality of this information limit the ability of managers to combat invasions.
    In October 1998, a workshop was convened at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville to discuss the creation of an Internet-based global information system that would provide comprehensive and readily accessible information to aid monitoring, risk assessment, and control of invasive species. The goals of the workshop were to determine how this system should address management and research needs and to identify the system's key elements. Participating in this meeting was a diverse group of resource managers, database managers, and academic researchers. In this article, we briefly summarize their ideas in the hope of encouraging concerted action against the invasive species problem.

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Contact: Anthony Ricciardi, Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4J1, Canada
Key Words: Nonindigenous, Monitoring, Colonization
Product Type: Publication, Report
User Type: General