A novel tool for the exploration of alien species information: the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN)

To implement the European policies for the efficient prevention, early detection, rapid response, and management of biological invasions and also to evaluate management measures, there is a need for accurate, detailed, and timely information on alien species occurrence and distribution (Simpson et al. 2009, Hulme and Weser 2011). The European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) has put efforts towards facilitating the exploration of alien species information in Europe by developing the central platform of the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN; http://easin.jrc.ec.europa.eu/). EASIN aims to facilitate the exploration of existing alien species information from distributed sources through a network of interoperable web services, and to assist the implementation of European policies on biological invasions. To achieve these objectives, EASIN has developed web tools and services that can be utilized freely and independently by any host. Basic functionalities can be accessed using embeddable web widgets having interactive alien species data querying, GIS-based mapping and reporting interfaces. The EASIN web tools and services follow internationally recognized standards and protocols, while ownership of the data remains with its source, which is properly cited and linked. The network allows extraction of alien species information from online information systems for all species included in the EASIN catalogue. This catalogue was based on an inventory of reported alien species in Europe that was produced by reviewing and standardizing information from 43 online databases. Alien species names were extracted for all European countries, i.e. including the 27 EU Member States, the 5 Candidate countries and 17 other European countries. To have full coverage of the four seas surrounding Europe, alien marine species reported from the entire Mediterranean Sea were included, i.e. also from North African and Near East Mediterranean countries. The EASIN catalogue includes information on taxonomy, pathways of introduction (based on the framework proposed by Hulme et al. 2008), native range in Europe, and impact. Compilation of the EASIN catalogue is an on-going process and includes several steps to achieve high quality standards. EASIN catalogue entails the basic information needed to efficiently link to existing online databases and retrieve spatial information for alien species distribution in Europe. Using search functionalities powered by the widget framework, it is possible to make a tailored selection of a subgroup of species based on various criteria (e.g., environment, taxonomy, pathways) (see Figure). Distribution maps of the selected species can be produced ‘on fly’ and downloaded by the user.

CARDOSO Ana;  KATSANEVAKIS Stylianos Marios;  BOGUCARSKIS Konstantins;  GATTO Francesca;  VANDEKERKHOVE Jochen;  DERIU Ivan; 

2013-01-17

GEIB Grupo Especialista en Invasiones Biológicas

JRC71706

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC71706,