Development and application of a multilingual electronic decision-support tool for risk screening non-native terrestrial animals under current and future climate conditions
Lorenzo Vilizzi,
Marina Piria,
Dariusz Pietraszewski,
Oldřich Kopecký,
Ivan Špelić,
Tena Radočaj,
Nikica Šprem,
Kieu Anh T. Ta,
Ali Serhan Tarkan,
András Weiperth,
Baran Yoğurtçuoğlu,
Onur Candan,
Gábor Herczeg,
Nurçin Killi,
Darija Lemić,
Bettina Szajbert,
David Almeida,
Zainab Al-Wazzan,
Usman Atique,
Rigers Bakiu,
Ratcha Chaichana,
Dimitriy Dashinov,
Árpad Ferincz,
Guillaume Flieller,
Allan S. Gilles Jr,
Philippe Goulletquer,
Elena Interesova,
Sonia Iqbal,
Akihiko Koyama,
Petra Kristan,
Shan Li,
Juliane Lukas,
Seyed Daryoush Moghaddas,
João G. Monteiro,
Levan Mumladze,
Karin H. Olsson,
Daniele Paganelli,
Costas Perdikaris,
Renanel Pickholtz,
Cristina Preda,
Milica Ristovska,
Kristína Slovák Švolíková,
Barbora Števove,
Eliza Uzunova,
Leonidas Vardakas,
Hugo Verreycken,
Hui Wei,
Grzegorz Zięba
Affiliations
Lorenzo Vilizzi
University of Lodz
Marina Piria
University of Zagreb
Dariusz Pietraszewski
University of Lodz
Oldřich Kopecký
Czech University of Life Sciences
Ivan Špelić
University of Zagreb
Tena Radočaj
University of Zagreb
Nikica Šprem
University of Zagreb
Kieu Anh T. Ta
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
Ali Serhan Tarkan
University of Lodz
András Weiperth
Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Baran Yoğurtçuoğlu
Hacettepe University
Onur Candan
Ordu University
Gábor Herczeg
ELTE Eötvös Loránd University
Nurçin Killi
Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University
Darija Lemić
University of Zagreb
Bettina Szajbert
ELTE Eötvös Loránd University
David Almeida
USP-CEU University
Zainab Al-Wazzan
Environment Public Authority
Usman Atique
University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
Rigers Bakiu
Agricultural University of Tirana
Ratcha Chaichana
Kasetsart University
Dimitriy Dashinov
Sofia University
Árpad Ferincz
Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Guillaume Flieller
University of Rennes
Allan S. Gilles Jr
University of Santo Tomas
Philippe Goulletquer
French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea
Elena Interesova
Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Sonia Iqbal
University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
Akihiko Koyama
Kyushu University
Petra Kristan
University of Zagreb
Shan Li
Shanghai Natural History Museum
Juliane Lukas
Humboldt University of Berlin
Seyed Daryoush Moghaddas
Shahid Beheshti University
João G. Monteiro
Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre
Levan Mumladze
Ilia State University
Karin H. Olsson
Tel Aviv University
Daniele Paganelli
University of Pavia
Costas Perdikaris
Department of Fisheries, Regional Unit of Thesprotia
Renanel Pickholtz
Tel Aviv University
Cristina Preda
Ovidius University of Constanta
Milica Ristovska
University “St. Cyril and Methodius”
Kristína Slovák Švolíková
Comenius University
Barbora Števove
Comenius University
Eliza Uzunova
Sofia University
Leonidas Vardakas
Institute of Marine Biological Resources & Inland Waters
Electronic decision-support tools are becoming an essential component of government strategies to tackle non-native species invasions. This study describes the development and application of a multilingual electronic decision-support tool for screening terrestrial animals under current and future climate conditions: the Terrestrial Animal Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (TAS-ISK). As an adaptation of the widely employed Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK), the TAS-ISK question template inherits from the original Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) and related WRA-type toolkits and complies with the ‘minimum requirements’ for use with the recent European Regulation on invasive alien species of concern. The TAS-ISK consists of 49 basic questions on the species’ biogeographical/historical traits and its biological/ecological interactions, and of 6 additional questions to predict how climate change is likely to influence the risks of introduction, establishment, dispersal and impact of the screened species. Following a description of the main features of this decision-support tool as a turnkey software application and of its graphical user interface with support for 32 languages, sample screenings are provided in different risk assessment areas for one representative species of each of the main taxonomic groups of terrestrial animals supported by the toolkit: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, annelids, insects, molluscs, nematodes, and platyhelminths. The highest-scoring species were the red earthworm Lumbricus rubellus for the Aegean region of Turkey and the New Zealand flatworm Arthurdendyus triangulatus for Croatia. It is anticipated that adoption of this toolkit will mirror that of the worldwide employed AS-ISK, hence allowing to share information and inform decisions for the prevention of entry and/or dispersal of (high-risk) non-native terrestrial animal species – a crucial step to implement early-stage control and eradication measures as part of rapid-response strategies to counteract biological invasions.
