RT Journal Article
T1 A horizon scan exercise for aquatic invasive alien species in Iberian inland waters
A1 Oficialdegui, Francisco
A1 Zamora-Marín, José
A1 Guareschi, Simone
A1 Anastácio, Pedro
A1 García-Murillo, Pablo
A1 Ribeiro, Filipe
A1 Miranda, Rafael
A1 Cobo, Fernando
A1 Gallardo, Belinda
A1 García-Berthou, Emili
A1 Boix, Dani
A1 Arias, Andrés
A1 Cuesta, Jose
A1 Medina, Leopoldo
A1 Almeida, David
A1 Banha, Filipe
A1 Barca, Sandra
A1 Biurrun, Idoia
A1 Cabezas, Pilar
A1 Calero, Sara
A1 Campos, Juan
A1 Capdevila-Argüelles, Laura
A1 Capinha, César
A1 Casals, Frederic
A1 Clavero, Miguel
A1 Encarnação, João
A1 Fernández-Delgado, Carlos
A1 Franco, Javier
A1 Guillén, Antonio
A1 Hermoso, Virgilio
A1 Machordom, Annie
A1 Martelo, Joana
A1 Mellado-Díaz, Andrés
A1 Morcillo Alonso, Felipe
A1 Oscoz, Javier
A1 Perdices, Anabel
A1 Pou-Rovira, Quim
A1 Rodríguez-Merino, Argantonio
A1 Ros, Macarena
A1 Ruiz-Navarro, Ana
A1 Sánchez, Marta
A1 Sánchez-Fernández, David
A1 Sánchez-González, Jorge
A1 Sánchez-Gullón, Enrique
A1 Teodósio, M. Alexandra
A1 Torralva, Mar
A1 Vieira-Lanero, Rufino
A1 Oliva-Paterna, Francisco
AB As the number of introduced species keeps increasing unabatedly, identifying and prioritising current and potential Invasive Alien Species (IAS) has become essential to manage them. Horizon Scanning (HS), defined as an exploration of potential threats, is considered a fundamental component of IAS management. By combining scientific knowledge on taxa with expert opinion, we identified the most relevant aquatic IAS in the Iberian Peninsula, i.e., those with the greatest geographic extent (or probability of introduction), severe ecological, economic and human health impacts, greatest difficulty and acceptability of management. We highlighted the 126 most relevant IAS already present in Iberian inland waters (i.e., Concern list) and 89 with a high probability of being introduced in the near future (i.e., Alert list), of which 24 and 10 IAS, respectively, were considered as a management priority after receiving the highest scores in the expert assessment (i.e., top-ranked IAS). In both lists, aquatic IAS belonging to the four thematic groups (plants, freshwater invertebrates, estuarine invertebrates, and vertebrates) were identified as having been introduced through various pathways from different regions of the world and classified according to their main functional feeding groups. Also, the latest update of the list of IAS of Union concern pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 includes only 12 top-ranked IAS identified for the Iberian Peninsula, while the national lists incorporate the vast majority of them. This fact underlines the great importance of taxa prioritisation exercises at biogeographical scales as a step prior to risk analyses and their inclusion in national lists. This HS provides a robust assessment and a cost-effective strategy for decision-makers and stakeholders to prioritise the use of limited resources for IAS prevention and management. Although applied at a transnational level in a European biodiversity hotspot, this approach is designed for potential application at any geographical or administrative scale, including the continental one.
PB Elsevier
SN 0048-9697
YR 2023
FD 2023
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/93937
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/93937
LA eng
NO Oficialdegui, Francisco J., et al. «A Horizon Scan Exercise for Aquatic Invasive Alien Species in Iberian Inland Waters». Science of The Total Environment, vol. 869, abril de 2023, p. 161798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161798.
NO FundingThis research was supported by the LIFE INVASAQUA project (Aquatic In- vasive Alien Species of Freshwater and Estuarine Systems: Awareness and Prevention in the Iberian Peninsula) (LIFE17 GIE/ES/000515) funded by the EU LIFE Program. The Fundación Biodiversidad (Government of Spain) and the Government of Navarre financially support specific actions into the LIFE INVASAQUA. F.R. is supported by Foundation for Science and Technology through an individual contract (CEEC/0482/2020). J.E. has a Ph.D. scholarship (SFRH/BD/140556/2018) funded by FCT, Portugal. F.B. is supported by Foundation for Science and Technology through an individual contract (CEEC/01896/2021).
NO European Commission
NO Fundación Biodiversidad 
NO Nafarroako Gobernua
NO Fundación para la Ciencia y la Tecnología 
NO Foundation for Science and Technology (Portugal)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 8 abr 2025