South America

Invasive species are one of the most dire threats to the endemic flora and fauna of the Galápagos Islands. One of the most aggressive species is the Giant African Snail (Lissachatina fulica), which was reported for the first time in Galápagos in 2010 and is a highly invasive species that appears on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) list of the 100 most harmful invasive species in the world. Galápagos Conservancy President Dr. Paul Salaman recently signed a new agreement with the Galápagos Biosecurity & Quarantine Regulation & Control Agency (ABG) to strengthen control actions and prevent the spread of the African snail on the islands.

Since arriving to the northern Atlantic Ocean less than 30 years ago, lionfish have quickly become one of the most widespread and voracious invasive species, negatively impacting marine ecosystems—particularly coral reefs—from the northeast coast of the United States to the Caribbean Islands. In a new study, an international research team including the California Academy of Sciences presents four new records of lionfish off the coast of Brazil, confirming the invasion of the predatory fish into the South Atlantic for the first time.

More than 50 non-native species have found their way to the Galápagos Islands, over 10 times more than scientists previously thought, reports a new study in Aquatic Invasions published Thursday, March 28. The study, a joint effort of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Williams College, and the Charles Darwin Foundation, documents 53 species of introduced marine animals in this UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the largest marine protected areas on Earth. Before this study came out, scientists knew about only five.