Data_Sheet_2_“If You Know the Enemy and Know Yourself”: Addressing the Problem of Biological Invasions in Ports Through a New NIS Invasion Threat Score, Routine Monitoring, and Preventive Action Plans.xlsx

Invasive alien species (IAS) are currently considered one of the greatest threats to global marine ecosystems. Thus, ships and maritime activity have been identified as the main factors responsible for the vast majority of accidental species translocations around the world, implying that prevention should be the core of environmental port policies. Preventive port strategies should include analyzing risks based on traffic origins and volumes, revising port policies for inspections, estimating probabilities of non-indigenous species (NIS) appearance, monitoring routine species within ports, and finally implementing management plans and focused actions. Here, we conducted a comprehensive NIS prediction analysis for the port of Gijon (northern Spain), one of the largest ports in the south Bay of Biscay, as a case study that can be extrapolated to other international seaports. An extensive bibliographic search (1953–2020) was conducted and we identified 380 species that have been transported through hull fouling and ballast water around the world. We evaluated their likelihood of arriving (from 14 years of traffic data) and becoming established (from habitat suitability and demonstrated impacts and invasion ability) within the Gijon port, creating a new NIS Invasion Threat Score (NIS-ITS). This new index could help to identify target species that are likely invaders for early detection and prevention policies within the port. The results showed that 15 NIS had >90% likelihood of becoming a biological invasion problem in Gijon Port. At the same time, we reported morphological and genetic analysis of biota found in two successive annual monitoring surveys of Gijon port and ships (n = 612 individuals) revealing 18 NIS, including 6 of the NIS predicted from high NIS-ITS. Actually, 80% (12 NIS) of those potentially most dangerous species (NIS-ITS > 90%) have already been detected in the Bay of Biscay area. We propose the use of this new tool for a risk-reduction strategy in ports, based on accurate predictions that help in promoting specific early detection tests and specific monitoring for NIS that have a high chance of establishment. All international seaports can adopt this strategy to address the problem of biological invasions and become “blueports” in line with EU policy.

入侵性外来物种（IAS）目前被视为全球海洋生态系统面临的最大威胁之一。因此，船只及海上活动已被确认为导致全球范围内大部分物种意外迁移的主要因素，这表明预防应当成为港口环境政策的核心。预防性的港口策略应包括基于交通来源和数量的风险评估，修订港口检查政策，估算非本地物种（NIS）出现的概率，监控港口内的常规物种，最终实施管理计划和针对性的行动。在本研究中，我们对西班牙北部比斯开湾南部最大的港口之一——希洪港进行了全面的非本地物种预测分析，以此作为可推广至其他国际港口的案例研究。我们进行了广泛的文献检索（1953年至2020年），并确定了全球范围内通过船体污垢和压载水运输的380种物种。我们评估了它们抵达（基于14年的交通数据）并在希洪港内定殖（基于栖息地适宜性、已证实的侵袭能力和影响）的可能性，并创建了新的非本地物种侵袭威胁评分（NIS-ITS）。这一新指标有助于识别可能成为早期检测和预防政策目标的潜在入侵物种。结果显示，15种非本地物种在希洪港内成为生物入侵问题的可能性超过90%。同时，我们还报道了在希洪港及其船只连续两年年度监测调查中（n = 612个个体）发现的生物群落的形态学和遗传学分析，揭示了18种非本地物种，其中包括6种来自高NIS-ITS预测的物种。实际上，80%（12种）这些潜在最危险的物种（NIS-ITS > 90%）已经在比斯开湾区域被检测到。我们提议利用这一新工具来降低港口的风险，基于准确的预测，有助于促进特定的早期检测测试和针对有高定殖概率的非本地物种的特定监控。所有国际港口均可采用这一策略来解决生物入侵问题，并成为符合欧盟政策的“蓝色港口”。