Figure 1: Large-scale initiatives aiming to control invasive species.
From: Confronting the risks of large-scale invasive species control
a–c, The European Union (red) list of ‘invasive alien species’ was adopted in 2016 and includes 14 plants and 23 animals that are subject to management measures across the 28 member nations covering an area of approximately 4 million km2. d,e, Australia (grey outline) announced that it intends to release a biocontrol agent — cyprinid herpesvirus-3 — as early as 2018 into invasive carp populations across more than 1 million km2 of the Murray–Darling basin (grey fill) and then the rest of the continent. As part of its Threatened Species Strategy, Australia also proposes to kill 2 million feral cats by 2020. f–h, In the United States, ongoing efforts have legalized and occasionally provided incentives for unlimited fishing of invasive predators such as striped bass in the Sacramento River (black) in California, northern pikeminnow native to the Columbia River (blue), invasive lionfish on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts (yellow) and invasive warm-water fishes across the west coast of the United States. i–k, The New Zealand (green) government announced in 2016 US$20 million seed-funding to begin eradicating three groups of terrestrial invasive mammals: three mustelids, three rodents and the Australian brushtail possum, by 2050. Publ. note: Springer Nature is neutral about jurisdictional claims in maps. Species pictured: nutria (Myocastor coypus, a), largeflower primrose-willow (Ludwigia grandiflora, b), red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkia, c), feral cat (Felis catus, d), common carp (Cyprinus carpio, e), striped bass (Morone saxatilis, f), northern pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus oregonensis, g), lionfish (Pterois miles, h), ferret (Mustela furo, i), black rat (Rattus rattus, j) Australian brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula, k). Photo credits: Julien Cucherousset (a,c), Jean-Patrice Damien (b), Tim Doherty (d), Clayton Sharpe (e), Phil Antipa (f), William Mullins/Alamy Stock Photo (g), Brand X Pictures (h), Tierfotoagentur/Alamy Stock Photo (i), Andrea Byrom (j), Ingo Oeland/Alamy Stock Photo (k).
