The Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences (CABI) Invasive Species Compendium (ISC) has been rated highly against three other databases for its breadth of information regarding 49 invasive alien species of Union concern, including the Siberian chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus) and the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax).

Scientists, who published research in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation looking at the "harmonization and educational potential" of the ISC as well as the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN), Global Invasive Species Database (GISD) and European Network on Invasive Alien Species (NOBANIS), said the CABI platform ranked "significantly highest" based on combined scores for the topics: morphological identification, EU distribution, detrimental impacts, control options and the use of source material citations.

The team, which included lead authors Neil Coughlan and Jaimie Dick from Queen’s University Belfast, also said CABI’s ISC also ranked highest for the individual topics of species identification, impacts, control options and the use of citations.

In the paper, Coughlan and Dick said, "Overall, scores differed significantly among databases and thus lacked harmonization, whereby CABI ranked significantly highest based on the combined score for all topics.’

Since 2016, there has been a requirement for member states of the European Union to prevent, control and eradicate a range of selected invasive alien species (IAS) designated as Species of Union Concern.

As part of the conservation efforts, online information systems – such as the ISC – are used to present IAS information to the wider public. The scientists add that this is often done to "bolster community-based environmental monitoring" despite the fact that they assert both the "conformity and quality of information present amongst online databases remain poorly understood."

The ISC is an encyclopedic resource that brings together scientific information on all aspects of invasive species. It comprises detailed datasheets that have been sourced from experts, edited by CABI’s scientific staff, peer-reviewed, enhanced with data from specialist organizations, and with images and maps, and linked to a bibliographic database.

It is aimed at researchers, lecturers and students, policy makers, agricultural research centers and extension officers, quarantine officers, crop protection and animal health practitioners (both public and private sector), weed specialists, and resource and environment managers in agriculture, forestry, rangeland, urban land, rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

Coughlan and Dick argue that for "each topic, the highest scoring databases achieved scores indicative of detailed or highly detailed information, which suggests a high educational potential for the information portrayed. Nevertheless, the extent of harmonization and quality of information presented amongst online databases should be improved."

Lucinda Charles, Senior Content Editor on the ISC, said, “We are delighted that recognition has been made for over 10 years of continuous development of the Invasive Species Compendium which is aimed at providing up-to-date detailed information for researchers, students and practitioners.”

In 2001, CABI’s Compendium Programme Consortia identified a need for a compendium on invasive species in recognition of the threat posed by such species to the global economy and environment. This coincided with a similar recognition by the U.S. National Invasive Species Management Plan.

CABI’s long-standing expertise in invasive species makes it ideally placed to develop this resource, in partnership with other expert organizations including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is a lead partner with CABI in the project.

Full paper reference

Neil E. Coughlan, Linda Lyne, Ross N. Cuthbert, Eoghan M. Cunningham, Frances E. Lucy, Eithne Davis, Joe M. Caffrey, Jaimie T.A. Dick. "In the black: Information harmonisation and educational potential amongst international databases for Invasive alien species designated as of Union Concern," Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 24, December 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01332

About the Invasive Species Compendium

The Invasive Species Compendium (ISC) is an encyclopedic resource that brings together a wide range of different types of science-based information to support decision-making in invasive species management worldwide.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is a lead partner with CABI in the development of this compendium which has been resourced by a diverse international consortium of government departments, non-governmental organizations and private companies (further information is provided on this page).

The ISC could not have been produced without the collaboration of experts from around the world. See Contributors for the list of the authors, reviewers and consultants who have helped develop the Compendium.