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Alien insects represent one of the most species rich groups of organisms introduced to Europe, with some responsible for adverse social-economic, human-health, biodiversity and ecosystem impacts. The impacts of invasive alien species, especially on island ecosystems, have been a hot topic of research worldwide. Cyprus is a Mediterranean island at the biogeographic crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe. This study presents the database of the alien insects of the island of Cyprus as a whole, created through an extensive review including grey literature and online sources. The Alien to Cyprus Entomofauna (ACE) triples the known number of alien insects and adds supplemental information to existing species. Data concerning a total of 349 alien insects are presented alongside an updated checklist and recommendations for informing management. The status of alien insects on the island, their origin, trophic guilds, establishment, pathways of introduction and impacts are discussed. Developing an alien species inventory for the island is challenging due to its geographic position and the increasing movement of people and goods leading to new species introductions. This publication constitutes an important first step towards providing information for effective actions to tackle invasive alien insects on Cyprus. The checklist and accompanying information can underpin understanding of the status and trends of alien species including providing information for risk assessments. ACE will continue to be maintained and updated as new records for Cyprus are made.

Providing evidence-based and scientifically robust risk assessments, as foreseen under Article 5 of the Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species (IAS), is one step in the process of developing the list of IAS of Union concern. The aim of the current study is to develop such risk assessments alongside evidence on management measures and their implementation cost and cost-effectiveness to help inform policies and prioritise actions. This study includes eight new risk assessments and associated management annexes, for the following species: Bipalium kewense (Kew Flatworm), Cervus nippon (Sika Deer), Cherax destructor (Common Yabby), Delairea odorata (Cape Ivy), Marisa cornuarietis (Colombian Ramshorn Apple Snail), Mulinia lateralis (Dwarf Surf Clam), Obama nungara (Obama Flatworm), and Pycnonotus jocosus (Red-whiskered Bulbul). This study further includes ten risk assessments from previous contracts, revised according to the comments from the Scientific Forum and other stakeholders, concerning the following species: Asterias amurensis (North Pacific Seastar), Axis axis (Axis Deer), Broussonetia papyrifera (Paper Mulberry), Callinectes sapidus (Atlantic Blue Crab), Cortaderia selloana (Pampas Grass), Faxonius immunis (Calico Crayfish), Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (Oriental Weatherfish), Pycnonotus cafer (Red-vented Bulbul), Vespa mandarinia (Asian Giant Hornet), and Xenopus laevis (African Claed Frog). In addition, two risk assessments submitted by a Member State were revised in this contract: Castor canadensis (North American Beaver) and Celastrus orbiculatus (Staff-vine).

The European Union Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on invasive alien species (IAS) establishes an EU-wide framework for action to prevent, minimise and mitigate the adverse impacts of IAS on biodiversity and centres around the development of a list of IAS of EU Concern. The initial list of IAS of EU concern will be based on available risk assessments compliant with agreed minimum standards but horizon scanning is seen as critical to inform future updating of the list, in order to prioritise the most threatening new and emerging IAS. A workshop was held with the overarching aim of reviewing and validating an approach to horizon scanning to derive a ranked list of IAS which are likely to arrive, establish, spread and have an impact on biodiversity or related ecosystem services in the EU over the next decade. The agreed horizon scanning approach involved two distinct phases: i) Preliminary consultation between experts within five thematic groups to derive initial scores; ii) Consensus-building across expert groups including extensive discussion on species rankings coupled with review and moderation of scores across groups. The outcome of the horizon scanning was a list of 95 species, including all taxa (except microorganisms) within marine, terrestrial and freshwater environments, considered as very high or high priority for risk assessment Le Règlement de l’Union Européenne (UE) 1143/2014 sur les espèces notices envahissantes (EEE) établit un cadre d’actions à l’échelle européenne pour prévenir, réduire au minimum et atténuer les impacts négatifs des EEE sur la biodiversité, et se concentre sur le développement d’une liste d’EEE de préoccupation européenne. La liste initiale d’EEE de préoccupation européenne est basée sur les analyses de risque disponibles conformes aux standards minimums reconnus. Mais l’horizon scanning est essentiel pour informer les mises à jour futures de la liste, dans le but de prioritiser les EEE nouvelles et émergentes les plus menaçantes. Un workshop a été organisé avec pour but général d’évaluer et de valider une approche d’horizon scanning en vue de produire une liste ordonnée d’EEE susceptibles d’arriver, de s’établir, de se disperser et de présenter un impact sur la biodiversité et les services écosystémiques associés dans l’UE durant la prochaine décennie. L’approche d’horizon scanning avalisée comprenait deux phases distinctes: i) Une consultation préliminaire entre experts au sein de cinq groups thématiques pour produire des scores initiaux ii) L’établissement de consensus au travers des groups d’experts incluant une discussion approfondie sur les classements des espèces, combinée à une évaluation et une modération des scores entre groupes. Le résultat de l’horizon scanning consistait en une liste de 95 espèces, comprenant tous les types taxonomies (excepté des microorganismes) au sein des environnements marins, terrestres et d’eau douce, et considérées comme étant de priorité très élevée à élevée pour la réalisation d’analyses de risque

Summary Biodiversity is changing at unprecedented rates, and it is increasingly important that these changes are quantified through monitoring programmes. Previous recommendations for developing or enhancing these programmes focus either on the end goals, that is the intended use of the data, or on how these goals are achieved, for example through volunteer involvement in citizen science, but not both. These recommendations are rarely prioritized.We used a collaborative approach, involving 52 experts in biodiversity monitoring in the UK, to develop a list of attributes of relevance to any biodiversity monitoring programme and to order these attributes by their priority. We also ranked the attributes according to their importance in monitoring biodiversity in the UK. Experts involved included data users, funders, programme organizers and participants in data collection. They covered expertise in a wide range of taxa.We developed a final list of 25 attributes of biodiversity monitoring schemes, ordered from the most elemental (those essential for monitoring schemes; e.g. articulate the objectives and gain sufficient participants) to the most aspirational (e.g. electronic data capture in the field, reporting change annually). This ordered list is a practical framework which can be used to support the development of monitoring programmes.People's ranking of attributes revealed a difference between those who considered attributes with benefits to end users to be most important (e.g. people from governmental organizations) and those who considered attributes with greatest benefit to participants to be most important (e.g. people involved with volunteer biological recording schemes). This reveals a distinction between focussing on aims and the pragmatism in achieving those aims. Synthesis and applications. The ordered list of attributes developed in this study will assist in prioritizing resources to develop biodiversity monitoring programmes (including citizen science). The potential conflict between end users of data and participants in data collection that we discovered should be addressed by involving the diversity of stakeholders at all stages of programme development. This will maximize the chance of successfully achieving the goals of biodiversity monitoring programmes., The ordered list of attributes developed in this study will assist in prioritizing resources to develop biodiversity monitoring programmes (including citizen science). The potential conflict between end users of data and participants in data collection that we discovered should be addressed by involving the diversity of stakeholders at all stages of programme development. This will maximize the chance of successfully achieving the goals of biodiversity monitoring programmes.

The European Union (EU) has recently published its first list of invasive alien species (IAS) of EU concern to which current legislation must apply. The list comprises species known to pose great threats to biodiversity and needs to be maintained and updated. Horizon scanning is seen as critical to identify the most threatening potential IAS that do not yet occur in Europe to be subsequently risk assessed for future listing. Accordingly, we present a systematic consensus horizon scanning procedure to derive a ranked list of potential IAS likely to arrive, establish, spread and have an impact on biodiversity in the region over the next decade. The approach is unique in the continental scale examined, the breadth of taxonomic groups and environments considered, and the methods and data sources used. International experts were brought together to address five broad thematic groups of potential IAS. For each thematic group the experts first independently assembled lists of potential IAS not yet established in the EU but potentially threatening biodiversity if introduced. Experts were asked to score the species within their thematic group for their separate likelihoods of i) arrival, ii) establishment, iii) spread, and iv) magnitude of the potential negative impact on biodiversity within the EU. Experts then convened for a 2-day workshop applying consensus methods to compile a ranked list of potential IAS. From an initial working list of 329 species, a list of 66 species not yet established in the EU that were considered to be very high (8 species), high (40 species) or medium (18 species) risk species was derived. Here, we present these species highlighting the potential negative impacts and the most likely biogeographic regions to be affected by these potential IAS.