Invasive Species
Brief introduction
The introduction of species beyond their natural range is expanding rapidly, due to increased transport, trade, travel, tourism and the unprecedented accessibility of goods resulting from globalisation. The introduction of alien species can have far-reaching and often harmful effects upon the biological diversity and the function of invaded ecosystems and cause significant losses in economic values. As such, alien species are now considered to be the second most important cause of global biodiversity loss after direct habitat destruction.
Current activities
In view of the lack of a comprehensive assessment of the impact of non-native species in Europe, and the limited number of national guidelines for risk assessment and procedures for dealing with introductions, our research provides information, recommendations and assistance for policy makers in order to support the development of strategies for invasive alien species management. Our research focus on the following objectives:
Assess the impacts of alien species on environmental, economic and social sectors;
Identify the possible policy options in order to control the negative impacts of alien species on biodiversity;
Analyse the impacts of identified options both in terms of their benefits and costs (economic, social and environmental);
- Environmental impacts of alien species in aquaculture (IMPASSE, EUFP6)
- Assessing Large scale Risk for biodiversity with tested Methods (ALARM, FP6)
- Risk identification and assessment of non-native freshwater fishes: concepts and perspectives on protocols for the UK (Defra)
- Effect of non-native freshwater fishes on fish community structure and their role introducing non-native fish diseases (Defra)
- Sex pheromones of alien fish species as disrupters of native fish reproductive behaviour (NERC)
- Prevalence, impact and life cycle of an emerging endemic disease: the rosette-like agent (Defra)
- Lakes of the Rift Valley (Earthwatch Institute)
- Impact of the invasive topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva on the food web and trophic structure of infested lakes in England (British Ecological Society)
- Evolutionary aspects of topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva invasion: a healthy carrier of an emergent infectious disease (Fisheries Society of the British Isles)
- Ecological impacts of Sika deer Cervus nippon (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, National Trust, Ministry of Defence)
Selected publications
1. Britton J.R. & Brazier M. 2006. Eradicating the invasive topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva from a recreational fishery in Northern England. Fisheries Management & Ecology 13, 329-335.
2. Britton J.R., Pegg J., Sedgwick R. & Page R. 2007. Using mark-recapture to estimate catch rates and growth of the European catfish Silurus glanis in a recreational fishery. Fisheries Management & Ecology 14, 263-268.
3. Britton J.R., Davies G.D., Brazier M. & Pinder A.C. A case study on the population ecology of a topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva population in the UK and the implications for native fish communities. Aquatic Conservation: Marine & Freshwater Ecosystems (In press)
4. Britton J.R. & Davies G.D. Length weight relationship of the topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva in 10 lakes in the UK. Journal of Applied Ichthyology (In press)
5. Britton J.R., Boar R.R., Grey J., Foster J., Lugonzo J. & Harper D. From introduction to fishery dominance: the initial impacts of the invasive carp Cyprinus carpio in Lake Naivasha, Kenya, 1999 to 2006. Journal of Fish Biology (In press)
6. Britton J.R., Davies G.D., Brazier M., Chare S. Case studies on eradicating the Asiatic cyprinid Pseudorasbora parva from fishing lakes in England to prevent their riverine dispersal. Aquatic Conservation: Marine & Freshwater Ecosystems (In press)
7. Caldow R.W.G.; Stillman R.A.; Durell S.E.A. le V. dit; West, A.D.; McGrorty S.; Goss-Custard, J.D.; Wood P.J.; Humphreys, J. 2007 Benefits to shorebirds from invasion of a non-native shellfish. Proceedings of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences, 274 (1616). 1449-1455.
8. Copp G.H., Templeton M. & Gozlan R.E. 2007 Propagule pressure and the occurrence of non-native fishes in regions of England. Journal of fish Biology. (In press)
9. Carpentier A., Gozlan R.E., Cucherousset J., Paillisson J-M. 2007. Is topmouth gudgeon responsible for the decline of sunbleak populations? Journal of Fish Biology (In press).
10. Gozlan R.E., St-Hilaire S., Feist S.W., Longshaw M. & Peeler E.J. 2006. The effect of microbial pathogens on the diversity of aquactic populations, notably in Europe. Microbes & infections 8: 1358-1364.
11. Gozlan R.E., St-Hilaire S., Feist S.W., Martin P. & Kent M.L. 2005. Disease threats on European fish. Nature. Vol 435, 1045.
12. Pinder A.C., Gozlan R.E. & Britton J.R. 2005. Dispersal of the invasive topmouth gudgeon, Pseudorasbora parva (Cyprinidae), in the UK: a vector for an emergent infectious disease. Fisheries Management & Ecology 12, 411-414
13. Diaz A., Pinn, E. H. & Hannaford, J. 2005. Ecological impacts of sika deer Cervus nippon around Poole Harbour. Humphreys, J. and May, V. (eds) The Ecology of Poole Harbour. Proceedings in Marine Science 7. Elsevier.
14. Diaz A., Hughes, S., Putman, R. Mogg, R. & Bond, J. M. 2006. A genetic study of sika (Cervus nippon) in the New Forest and in the Purbeck region, southern England: is there evidence of recent or past hybridization with red deer (Cervus elaphus)? Journal of Zoology, 207 (2), 227-235.
Contact email address
Dr Rudy Gozlan
| School of Applied Sciences | |
| Bournemouth University Christchurch House Talbot Campus Poole Dorset BH12 5BB UK |
Email: consci@bournemouth.ac.uk Website: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/cceec/ Tel: +44 (0) 1202 965178 Fax: +44 (0) 1202 965530 |
