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The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers have identified the "least wanted" aquatic invasive species (AIS) that present an imminent threat to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River region. In 2013, the Governors and Premiers committed to take priority action on the transfer of these species to and within the region. Since then, the states and provinces have taken more than 50 separate actions to restrict these high-risk AIS, and the US federal government has similarly restricted four of the species.
See also: Aquatic Invasive Species for more resources.

The list of “100 of the World’s Worst Invasive Alien Species” is designed to enhance awareness of the fascinating complexity, and also the terrible consequences, of invasive alien species. Species were selected for the list according to two criteria: their serious impact on biological diversity and/or human activities, and their illustration of important issues surrounding biological invasion.

See also: Table of Contents for complete document.

Different invasive ivy species may have different habitat preferences and kill techniques. Learn how to identify among different species — then report them to EDDMapS so researchers can access data!

Amendments to an international treaty aimed at preventing the spread of potentially invasive species in ships' ballast water entered into force on 13 October 2019. The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (the BWM Convention) was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, to address this problem. The BWM Convention entered into force in 2017. The amendments formalise an implementation schedule to ensure ships manage their ballast water to meet a specified standard ("D-2 standard") aimed at ensuring that viable organisms are not released into new sea areas, and make mandatory the Code for Approval of Ballast Water Management Systems, which sets out how ballast water management systems used to achieve the D-2 standard have to be assessed and approved. This will help ensure that aquatic organisms and pathogens are removed or rendered harmless before the ballast water is released into a new location – and avoid the spread of invasive species as well as potentially harmful pathogens.

See also: Alien Species Alert for more information

See also: Biocontrol Factsheets for more information on biocontrol agents

The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee announced the release of its 2021 Asian Carp Action Plan, a comprehensive portfolio of projects focused on Great Lakes protection.

Provides news updates and other resources. See also: Avian Influenza Surveillance

Invasive species pose a threat across the United States and its territories, but they can be especially challenging for the U.S. South Pacific territory of American Samoa. Among the invasive pests menacing the territory are several non-native fire ant species. 

Restoring islands through the removal of non-native invasive mammals is a powerful biodiversity conservation tool. This new study now shows that human communities on islands could benefit from restoration actions, which can potentially reduce or eliminate the burden of diseases transmitted to people by invasive species. Simply put, removal of invasive species can benefit human health in addition to ecological health.

The global increase in biological invasions is placing growing pressure on the management of ecological and economic systems. However, the effectiveness of current management expenditure is difficult to assess due to a lack of standardised measurement across spatial, taxonomic and temporal scales.

Research Highlights:

• Since 1960, management for biological invasions totalled at least $95.3 billion.
• Damage costs from invasions were substantially higher ($1130.6 billion).
• Pre-invasion management spending is 25-times lower than post-invasion.
• Management and damage costs are increasing rapidly over time.
• Proactive management substantially reduces future costs at the trillion-$ scale.

In 2021 a team of scientists from the University of Iowa, US, deployed innovative eDNA detection techniques to identify water courses where the New Zealand mud snail may be hiding unseen, which should allow them to identify the scale of the problem and deploy early interventions to keep populations in check before they do visible, irreversible damage.