Effects Of Climate Change On Aquatic Invasive Species

Global change stressors, including climate change and variability and changes in land use, are major drivers of ecosystem alterations. Invasive species, which are non-native species that cause environmental or economic damages or human-health impacts, also contribute to ecosystem changes. Invasive species are a major issue both ecologically and economically, and threaten native species, sometimes to the point of extinction. The interactions between stressors and invasive species, although not well understood, may exacerbate the impacts of climate change on ecosystems, and likewise, climate change may enable further invasions. This book reviews available literature on climate-change effects on aquatic invasive species (AIS) and examines state-level AIS management activities.

This open access book describes the serious threat of invasive species to native ecosystems. Invasive species have caused and will continue to cause enormous ecological and economic damage with ever increasing world trade. This multi-disciplinary book, written by over 100 national experts, presents the latest research on a wide range of natural science and social science fields that explore the ecology, impacts, and practical tools for management of invasive species. It covers species of all taxonomic groups from insects and pathogens, to plants, vertebrates, and aquatic organisms that impact a diversity of habitats in forests, rangelands and grasslands of the United States. It is well-illustrated, provides summaries of the most important invasive species and issues impacting all regions of the country, and includes a comprehensive primary reference list for each topic. This scientific synthesis provides the cultural, economic, scientific and social context for addressing environmental challenges posed by invasive species and will be a valuable resource for scholars, policy makers, natural resource managers and practitioners.

Invasive species are a major issue ecologically and economically. Invasive species threaten native species, sometimes to the point of extinction. The economic damages and losses attributed to invasive species in the United States are sizable. In response to these issues, the federal government coordinates research and other activities concerning invasive species through the National Invasive Species Council (NISC) and the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force (ANSTF). NISC has written and revised a national management plan that describes strategies for prevention, early detection/rapid response, control, management, coordination, education, and research for federal agencies. The ANSTF has developed guidance for regions and states to develop their own management plan and the Task Force reviews and approves these to distribute additional funding. It is these activities that address management actions on the ground that need to incorporate climate change considerations. This report is a first step in addressing this need. Concerns about possible climate change effects are increasingly prevalent. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Global Change Research Program (GCRP) in the Office of Research and Development, National Center for Environmental Assessment, examines climate change effects on aquatic ecosystems, water quality, human health, and air quality. The results of assessments completed by the GCRP are intended to increase society's understanding of such climate change effects and contribute to decision making that improves responses to environmental challenges. This report deals with the interaction of climate change and aquatic invasive species (AIS) and consequent effects on aquatic ecosystems. AIS are a concern to a variety of EPA programs, interagency efforts (e.g. ANSTF), state agencies, and other resource managers. This report evaluates the combined effects of climate change and AIS on aquatic ecosystem structure and function and suggests potential paths forward that will increase our understanding of these effects and improve AIS management.

This text examines the impact of climate change on freshwater ecosystems, past, present and future. It especially considers the interactions between climate change and other drivers of change including hydromorphological modification, nutrient loading, acid deposition and contamination by toxic substances using evidence from palaeolimnology, time-series analysis, space-for-time substitution, laboratory and field experiments and process modelling. The book evaluates these processes in relation to extreme events, seasonal changes in ecosystems, trends over decadal-scale time periods, mitigation strategies and ecosystem recovery. The book is also concerned with how aspects of hydrophysical, hydrochemical and ecological change can be used as early indicators of climate change in aquatic ecosystems and it addresses the implications of future climate change for freshwater ecosystem management at the catchment scale. This is an ideal book for the scientific research community, but is also accessible to Masters and senior undergraduate students.

The World's oceans play a crucial role for life on the planet. Healthy seas and the services they provide are key to the future development of mankind. Our seas are highly dynamic, structured and complex systems. In this report, the locations of the most productive fishing grounds in the World are compared to projected scenarios of climate change, ocean acidification, coral bleaching, intensity of fisheries, land-based pollution, increase of invasive species infestations and growth in coastal development

This report by the Nat. Science and Tech. Council¿s U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) is part of a series of 21 reports aimed at providing current assessments of climate change science to inform public debate, policy, and operational decisions. These reports are also intended to help the CCSP develop future program research priorities. The CCSP¿s guiding vision is to provide the Nation and the global community with the science-based knowledge needed to manage the risks and capture the opportunities associated with climate and related environmental changes. This report assesses the effects of climate change on U.S. land resources, water resources, agriculture, and biodiversity. It was developed with broad scientific input. Illus.