Advancing our understanding of biological invasions with long-term biomonitoring data

Haubrock, P. J., Carneiro, L., Macêdo, R. L., Balzani, P., Soto, I., Rasmussen, J. J., … & Ahmed, D. A. (2023). Advancing our understanding of biological invasions with long-term biomonitoring data. Biological Invasions, 1-13.

Abstract: The use of long-term datasets is crucial in ecology because it provides a comprehensive understanding of natural fluctuations, changes in ecosystems over extended periods of time, and robust comparisons across geographical scales. This information is critical in detecting and analysing trends and patterns in species populations, community dynamics, and ecosystem functioning, which in turn helps in predicting future changes and impacts of human activities. Additionally, long-term data sets allow for the evaluation of the effectiveness of conservation efforts and management strategies, enabling scientists and decision makers to make evidence-based decisions for biodiversity conservation. Although the use of long-term data is recognized as highly important in several scientific disciplines, its usage remains undervalued regarding questions in invasion science. Here, we used four regional subsets (i.e. England, Hungary, Denmark and the Dutch-German-Luxembourg) of a recently collated long-term time series database to investigate the abundance and dynamics of occurring non-native species over space and time in Europe. While we found differences in the numbers of non-native species across the studied regions (Dutch-German-Luxembourg region = 37; England = 17, Hungary = 34; Denmark = 3), non-native species detection rates were continuous over time. Our results further show that long-term monitoring efforts at large spatial scales can substantially increase the accuracy and rate at which non-native species are detected. This information can inform management endeavours dealing with non-native species, underlining the need for invasion scientists and authorities-stakeholders to make more effort in collecting, analysing and making available long-term datasets at broader geographic ranges.

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Invasive species policy in Brazil: a review and critical analysis

Faria, L., de Carvalho, B. M., Carneiro, L., Miiller, N. O. R., Pedroso, C. R., Occhi, T. V. T., … & Vitule, J. R. S. (2022). Invasive species policy in Brazil: a review and critical analysis. Environmental Conservation, 1-6.

Abstract: Biological invasions represent one of the main threats to biodiversity and a recognized economic burden worldwide; the issue has been included in the conservation agenda such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Brazil is a signatory country of the CBD; however, the number of alien species records in its territory is continuously rising. To evaluate the invasive alien species (IAS) policy in Brazil, we reviewed the legislation delineating historical trends to identify potential gaps and avenues for improvement. We consulted several websites using keywords related to invasions in order to track legal instruments such as laws, decrees and regulations. We classified the documents regarding their main aims with regard to IAS, taxon and environment of interest. We found 85 legal instruments in force related to IAS published in the federal sphere up to October 2021, with decrees being the most common type. Most documents were classified as ‘control’ and ‘prevention’ and were related to all taxa and environments. Two species (wild boar Sus scrofa and golden mussel Limnoperna fortunei) have more specific legislation, probably due to their conspicuous economic impacts. We discuss policy gaps and their implications for the efficient management and prevention of new IAS introductions to the country.

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Brazilian pesticides law could poison the world

Carneiro, L., Faria, L., Miiller, N., Cavalcante, A., Murata, A., & Vitule, J. R. S. (2022). Brazilian pesticides law could poison the world. Science, 376(6591), 362-362.

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