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Our science is published in a variety of formats. Click here for more information. We also attend events and conferences in the UK, within Europe, and at venues around the world.Alien Invader research on the BBC - 15 October 2008
All this week BBC News is taking a closer look at some of the alien invaders* in the UK. Biological invasions by non-native or 'alien' species are one of the greatest threats to the ecological and economic well-being of the planet. Alien species can act as carriers for new diseases, alter ecosystem processes, change biodiversity, disrupt cultural landscapes, reduce the value of land and water for human activities and cause other socio-economic consequences for man. The impact of alien invasive species on the economy is considerable; the UK Minister for Biodiversity recently estimated that invasive species cost the British economy approximately £2billion a year.
Two Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) research projects, the highly successful Harlequin Ladybird Survey and DAISIE - a pan-European assessment of invasive species, have featured within the BBC series.
Dr David Roy from CEH recently co-ordinated the Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe (Daisie) project, which is the most comprehensive inventory of invasive species ever undertaken for Europe. He answered BBC Online viewers' questions on Friday 15th October within an ‘Ask the expert’ session.
The DAISIE project website aims to provide a 'one-stop-shop' for information on biological invasions in Europe. Dr Roy commented, “The number of invasive species had been chronically underestimated. We've identified almost 11,000 alien species in Europe and the trend of new arrivals is showing no signs of levelling out." While the majority of these are not troublesome, a significant proportion can cause problems. Dr Roy added: "We found that approximately 15% of the aliens within Europe are known to have some impact on the environment or economy - and this problem goes across all taxonomic groups."
Peter Brown from CEH has spent the last four years working on the Harlequin Ladybird Survey. The harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, is considered the most invasive ladybird on Earth. It arrived in Britain in summer 2004 and has spread rapidly north and west from the southeast of England since its first sighting. Peter commented, “Our surveys have shown that harlequin ladybirds are spreading extremely quickly and are causing a lot of damage to our native species."
CEH scientists also research a wide variety of other alien invaders including terrestrial and aquatic plants, and invertebrates. The resulting distribution data is collated within the UK Biological Records Centre, which is hosted and managed at the CEH headquarters in Wallingford.
*An alien invasive species is defined as a plant, animal or micro-organism that is not native to an area, but has been introduced, either accidentally or deliberately, by humans.
Additional information
Media enquiries about this work should be directed to the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Press office.
Links to BBC Online Coverage
Aliens flood into UK waters – the DAISIE project
Aliens flood into UK waters – the Harlequin Ladybird
Alien invaders: The next generation - CEH work on Argentine ants and aquatic plants
Links to CEH alien invasive science
DAISIE - Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe
Harlequin Ladybird Survey - The UK Harlequin Ladybird Survey was established by CEH, Cambridge University and Anglia Ruskin University through the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Trust.
CEH research on Biological invasions
Recent CEH News story - ' Plant seeds hitch rides on shoes' - one transport mechanism for non-native species invasion.
