Species Invasions from Commerce in Live Aquatic Organisms: Problems and Possible Solutions

In the Laurentian Great Lakes region, commercial activities involving live fish bait, horticultural and water-garden plants, biological supplies, pets, and live food are the principal pathways for intentional introductions of live aquatic organisms. We sampled species for sale in these trades and fo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioscience 2007-05, Vol.57 (5), p.428-436
Main Authors: KELLER, REUBEN P, LODGE, DAVID M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administrator Surveys
Animals
Aquatic ecology
aquatic invasive species
Aquatic organisms
Baits
Biological taxonomies
Carp
Company business management
contaminant organisms
Contaminants
Control
DEPARTMENTS
ecological invasion
FORUM
Freshwater
Genetic diversity
Great Lakes
international trade
Internet
Introduced species
Invasions
Invasive species
Lakes
laws and regulations
Management
Organisms
pest control
pest management
Plant names
Plants
Risk
Risk analysis
Risk reduction
Temperate regions
Trade
trade regulations
vectors
Vendors
Watersheds
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Summary:In the Laurentian Great Lakes region, commercial activities involving live fish bait, horticultural and water-garden plants, biological supplies, pets, and live food are the principal pathways for intentional introductions of live aquatic organisms. We sampled species for sale in these trades and found that the risks of new invasions and of spreading known invaders are high. Moreover, most animals were identified by common name only, and even though scientific names were more often applied to plants, consumers cannot be certain what species they are receiving because misidentification is common. Finally, 90 percent of plant orders arrived contaminated with unordered live organisms. The policy goal of US and Canadian national and state or provincial agencies is to reduce the risk of harmful introductions. Our results demonstrate that meeting this goal will require accurate identification of species by vendors, the removal of known and likely invasive species from trade, and reductions in the number of contaminant organisms.
ISSN:0006-3568
1525-3244
DOI:10.1641/B570509