The picture shows a conceptual illustration of the Climate Invasives research project.
Invasive alien species, IAS, are introduced to new geographical areas via human vectors such as marine traffic. Initially the IAS can be established and survive in particularly favorable areas, which has been proposed to be termed “invasion hubs”. Climate change, which causes a decrease in extreme cold-temperature and icy winters in combination with an increase in above-normal water temperatures, facilitates an increased potential for secondary dispersal of the IAS from the invasion hubs to adjacent areas including Marine Protected Areas, MPAs. Since many marine species have the potential for long-distance larval dispersal across national borders, management strategies for IAS must be developed in collaboration by stakeholders from national authorities, NGOs and the private sector in all the countries in the geographical area within the dispersal-radius of the IAS.
Summary of the project
This project will investigate the climate change induced spread of invasive alien species
to marine protected areas. The aim is to minimize the negative effects by invasive species in areas of concern using species distribution modelling, stakeholder engagement and effective eradication methods.
The research will link climate models, marine traffic data and species dispersal models
with the risk of spreading invasive alien species (IAS) to marine protected areas and to
develop management advice on how local stakeholders can manage and control IAS in
protected areas to preserve its biodiversity. A regional approach spanning over three
Nordic countries, something that is missing today, will be developed. This approach can
further be used as a concept for other areas as mitigation work of invasive species in
Europe needs to be conducted via approaches broader than national work.
Although the political systems in the three Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden,
and Denmark) are very similar, the environmental management traditions are
surprisingly different, which has meant that even though the countries belong to the
same geographical region, with basically the same environmental challenges, each
country has approached them differently. The problem becomes particularly apparent
in the management of harmful alien species, where close cooperation (including
synchronized policy’s, data exchange, alert systems, biocontrol, and predictions) could
help to stop, limit, or at least delay their spread and harmful effect.
From the risk assessments for selected protected areas, the project will, in close
cooperation with both regional and local stakeholders, develop management advice for
the management and control of the invasive alien species. The management is based on
a chain of predictive modeling, enabling early detection through public engagement,
and in-time science-based preventive and eradication actions to enable as effective
management of the invasive species as possible.
This project will extend work with Action Plans for Invasive Species by adding the
climate change dimension and thereby time dimension. By this addition, the models will
in turn enable more robust strategies and methods to be planned for many years ahead.
The strategies will be monitored and adaptive, as new knowledge of climate change
and the potential invasive alien species, and their interactions increases