New catalogue expected to stand alongside red list as an international means to fight extinction, by helping to stop biological invasions

A world registry of invasive species has been launched amid concerns that governments are not doing enough to tackle the rising threat of globalisation to biodiversity.

The new catalogue – unveiled in the journal Scientific Data on Tuesday – is expected to become a pillar of international efforts to fight extinction alongside the “red list” of endangered species.

From yellow crazy ants on Christmas Island to little fire worms in the Galapagos, the deliberate or accidental introduction of non-native species is the biggest driver of biodiversity loss on islands and world heritage sites, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Profile Six biological aliens Show Hide Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) in Europe Accidentally introduced via a pottery consignment in Bordeaux in 2004, the hornet has spread to the UK, Spain, Italy, France and Belgium and the UK posing a major threat to native pollinators – such as honeybees – and public health. Cane toad (Rhinella marina) in Australia This toxic toad was intentionally introduced to control beetles in sugar cane plantations in Australia in 1935, but it is poisoning the predators that eat it and spreading across the country at the rate of about 50km a year. Yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) on Christmas Island After arriving in this fragile ecosystem in the early 20th century, the ants – which build supercolonies and spray formic acid on the joints of prey – have decimated populations of red crabs and indirectly, through habitat impacts, contributed to the extinctions of the Christmas Island pipistrelle bat, whiptail-skink and the chained gecko.

Toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus) in the Mediterranean The Suez Canal was the pathway for this highly toxic fish – better known by its Japanese name of fugu – which arrived in the eastern Mediterranean around 2003. It has caused several deaths and more are expected because the canal has been widened.

Earthworms (Lumbricidae) in North America Brought in with European settlers and then spread due to their popularity as fishing bait, earthworms are gobbling seeds, altering soils and disrupting forest ecosystems in the Great Lakes and other regions of the US and Canada that had been worm-free for tens of thousands of years. Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) in Africa, Europe, Asia and New Zealand Native to the Amazon, this fast-growing hyacinth was sold widely as a cheap ornamental plant but has subsequently caused billions of dollars of damage by choking lakes, blocking river transport and starving fish of oxygen.

It can also cause huge economic and health impacts, as has been the case with the arrival in Europe of tropical mosquitos, which are vectors for malaria, or the spread of Latin American water hyacinths in Africa, which started off as cheap ornamental plants but now cause billions of dollars of losses because they clog up rivers, block ships, prevent fishing and create breeding grounds for mosquitos.



The Global Registry of Introduced and Invasive Species catalogues these and thousands of other cases in a key step towards identifying and tackling the biggest risks.

Based on an international collaboration by hundreds of scientists over eight years, the registry is seen as a tool – like the red list – that will allow countries to set up early warning and rapid response systems to prevent “door-knocking” species from entering in destructively large numbers.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Water hyacinth on the Minjiang River in Gutian county, China. The invasive plants choke lakes, block river transport and starve fish of oxygen. Photograph: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

This week’s data release, which covers 20 countries, reveals that 25% of the 6,400 identified invasive species have a negative impact on biodiversity and ecosystems. Information for the remaining 180 nations will be available by the middle of the year.

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“This is a milestone,” said Piero Genovesi, the chair of the Rome-based Invasive Species Special Group, which led the compilation of the registry. “With this paper we want to show the rigour of our approach because this information will affect trade relations and other government policies.”



He said biological invasions are increasing in all regions and taxonomic groups and are likely to accelerate as a result of climate change, which is altering the ranges of habitats.

