Gordon H. Copp

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science | CEFAS · Salmon and Freshwater Team

In recent decades, the population of European eel Anguilla anguilla has strongly declined and the stock is outside safe biological limits. Freshwater habitat degradation has been cited as a key causal factor in the European eel decline, but there are limited studies assessing the responses of this species to river habitat restoration efforts. This...

In mid-May 2022, pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha smolts were caught in the rivers Botnsá, Grímsá, and Langá in Iceland. This observation provides the first evidence of successful spawning and the completion of the freshwater phase of the life cycle in Icelandic rivers. It is the most western record of O. gorbuscha smolts in Europe, further west...

Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (v2.4.1)

Prevention of non-native species introductions and establishment is essential to avoid adverse impacts of invasive species in marine environments. To identify potential new invasive species and inform non-native species management options for the northern Gulf of Mexico (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas), 138 marine species were risk screened...

The trade in non-native aquatic organisms for ornamental and food consumption in the Philippines has been responsible for large-scale importation since as early as the 1940s. These non-native organisms, and especially invasive fishes, are believed to be one of the major threats to global biodiversity. However, little is known of the potential threa...

Environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys are increasingly used to inform management decisions for non-native species, for example, by detecting the presence and plotting distributions of species that may be in too low abundance for easy detection by conventional means. A recently-developed nested PCR protocol was used to assess the distributions of three n...

The bleak Alburnus alburnus is a medium body-size leuciscid fish that is naturally distributed across central European and western Asian fresh waters. However, during the last two decades A. alburnus has been widely introduced elsewhere in Europe and in northern Africa, mostly as a forage species for game fishes. Given its relatively recent history...

In spring 2022, pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha smolts were recorded in the UK. Fish were caught in the Rivers Thurso and Oykel in Scotland between 13 and 17 March. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first observation of O. gorbuscha smolts in Europe outside the Scandinavian and Kola peninsulas, including other tributaries of the White and B...

The aquatic ornamental industry, whilst providing socio-economic benefits, is a known introduction pathway for non-native species, which if invasive, can cause direct impacts to native species and ecosystems and also drive disease emergence by extending the geographic range of associated parasites and pathogens and by facilitating host-switching, s...

The goal of the ICES Working Group on the Introduction and Transfers of Marine Organisms (WGITMO) is to contribute to the ICES vision and mission by addressing specific science objectives related to the introduction, spread and impacts of non-indigenous marine species (NIS). The expert working group provides information and advice on the impacts of...

Score-based decision-support tools are increasingly used to identify potential invasive alien species as part of the risk-screening component of non-native species risk analysis. Amongst these tools are the Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) and its derivatives, e.g. the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK), which both have been extensively...

In recent decades, gobies have dispersed or introduced from the Ponto-Caspian region of eastern Europe in a westerly direction to North American and western European waters. By contrast, the naked goby, Gobiosoma bosc, is the only known gobiid species to have been introduced in an easterly direction from North American to western Europe. The potent...

This article presents a personal account of the important contribution a publication from David Noakes’ lab (Pot, Noakes, Ferguson and Coker 1984, Quantitative sampling of fishes in a simple system: failure of conventional methods. Hydrobiologia 114:249–254) made to freshwater fish science in general and to the successful public defence of a doctor...

There is increasing use worldwide of electronic decision-support tools to identify potentially invasive non-native species so as to inform policy and management decisions aimed at preventing or mitigating the environmental and socio-economic impacts of biological invasions. This study reviews the analytical approaches used to calibrate scores gener...

Plasticity in growth and life-history traits is an important attribute of non-native (NN) fishes, facilitating their adaptation to novel environments. Few studies have investigated geographical variations in multiple biological traits and the factors affecting the variations. In this study, variations in multiple biological traits of NN sailfin cat...

Human-induced biological introductions pose a major threat to global biodiversity, and this is especially frequent in the eastern Mediterranean region, which is a globally important biodiversity hotspot area of high conservation value. To predict at which level introduced species in this region might become invasive under current and projected clim...

1. Marine protected areas of the Caribbean islands are at high risk of non-native species (NNS) introductions and impacts that may threaten conservation goals. To inform conservation management of these protected areas, the present study identified potentially invasive NNS as well as introduction vectors and pathways for the southern Caribbean isla...

See final report

The impact of non-native species, together with their pervasiveness, necessitates a means of identifying which species are most likely to pose an elevated risk of becoming invasive. This is the first application of the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) decision support tool in Southeast Asia, and specifically for Vietnam. In total...

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-021-02498-4

The threat posed by invasive non-native species worldwide requires a global approach to identify which introduced species are likely to pose an elevated risk of impact to native species and ecosystems. To inform policy, stakeholders and management decisions on global threats to aquatic ecosystems, 195 assessors representing 120 risk assessment area...

1. Global trade in non-native ornamental species coupled with high connectivity amongst countries is well known to result in worldwide biological invasions, which pose challenges for the conservation and management of biodiversity. 2. There are few studies aimed at implementing management strategies that have examined differences in the potential i...

The North American channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus has been introduced to several locations in Europe but has received little or no scientific study despite its invasive attributes, including prolific reproduction, tolerance to a wide range of conditions, opportunistic feeding, at least partial ‘predator release’, and some evidence of environme...

The cover image is based on the Short Communication The potential contribution of small coastal streams to the conservation of declining and threatened diadromous fishes, especially the European eel by Gordon Copp et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3746. Photography by Alan Walker.

We review a model we developed in 2007 to predict the invasion potential of an introduced population, based on the relationship between juvenile growth (mean total length at age 2) and mean age-at-maturity, and test the model with data from 75 non-native populations of pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus in nine countries of Europe and western Asia. The d...

The impact of non-native species, together with their pervasiveness, necessitates a means of identifying which species are most likely to pose an elevated risk of becoming invasive. This is the first application of the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) decision support tool in Southeast Asia, and specifically for Vietnam. In total...

Human-generated pressures are continuing to have a detrimental effect on diadro-mous fishes, resulting in legislative initiatives to conserve and manage these species. Field studies to inform these initiatives focus almost exclusively on larger marine, estuarine, and inland waters, neglecting the role of small coastal streams and tributaries in pop...

Environmental changes due to non-native species introductions and translocations are a global concern. Whilst understanding the causes of bioinvasions is important, there is need for decision-support tools that facilitate effective communication of the potential risks of invasive non-native species to stakeholders. Decision-support tools have been...

Environmental changes due to non-native species introductions and translocations are a global concern. Whilst understanding the causes of bioinvasions is important, there is need for decision-support tools that facilitate effective communication of the potential risks of invasive non-native species to stakeholders. Decision-support tools have been...

• The contribution of nearly three decades of research, much of it published in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (AQC), to the conservation of the crucian carp Carassius carassius in the East of England, including work coordinated by the Norfolk Crucian Project, is summarized. • Although recent genetic studies indicate that th...

The ide Leuciscus idus is a large-bodied cyprinid native to freshwaters around the Baltic, Black, Caspian and North seas. Historically an important commercial species, the ide is exploited in recreational fisheries and as an ornamental fish, and is subject to translocation and stocking events. The ide is less well-studied than many European cyprini...

Risk screening tools play a crucial role in identifying potential high-risk non-native (NN) fish species. In this study, potentially invasive NN fish species in the Anzali Wetland Complex (AWC), which is located on the south coast of the Caspian Sea (Iran), were identified using the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK). In total, 29...

• The crucian carp Carassius carassius, a cyprinid fish characteristic of small ponds, is in decline throughout most of its European range, including in England where it is currently thought to be non‐native. • The present study, undertaken by the Norfolk Crucian Project, reports on reductions in pond populations of crucian carp in Norfolk, eastern...

Policies and legislation for the importation and use of non-native (NN) freshwater fishes have been rapidly evolving in several countries around the world in response to heightened evidence of their adverse ecological and economic impacts. In China, the already large and growing number of NN freshwater fishes being imported from foreign countries o...

To inform regional managers of potentially invasive non-native (NN) freshwater fishes in the principal hydrosystem that drains the West Siberian Plain, the River Ob basin, 31 extant and potential future NN fish species were assessed using the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) with respect to current and projected future climate co...

Although the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) does not refer explicitly to alien species (AS), it is clear that invasive AS (IAS) are considered a pressure on WFD water bodies. This article discusses the results of a questionnaire sent to all EU Member States, demonstrating considerable variability in the way that AS data are used in implem...

Risk screening tools are being increasingly used to identify the potential invasiveness and associated risks of non-native species. In this study, the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit was used to evaluate the invasiveness risks of extant and horizon non-native marine fish species for the coastal waters of South Korea. In total, 57 marine...

To determine the origin of introduced European populations of pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758)—a freshwater sunfish, native to eastern North America that has spread across western and central Europe—we investigated the phylogeography of the species by sequencing the mitochondrial NADH subunit 1 gene. A total of 543 pumpkinseeds were sa...

Invasive non‐native species (NNS) are internationally recognised as posing a serious threat to global biodiversity, economies and human health. The identification of invasive NNS already established, those that may arrive in the future, their vectors and pathways of introduction and spread, and hotspots of invasion are important for a targeted appr...

The aim of the present study was to risk screen 45 jellyfish species (30 hydromedusae, 14 scyphomedusae, one cubomedusa) for their potential invasiveness in the Mediterranean Sea to aid managers in making informed decisions on targeting appropriate species for management. Using the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS ISK), calibrated bas...

Marcot et al. (2019) recently described the risk analysis process by which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) chooses species for listing as injurious wildlife. They further compared the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK) and the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK), generally unfavorably, with their process/components. W...

Despite its social and economic benefits, the ornamental trade has become a major source of non-native fish introductions into freshwater ecosystems. However, the ornamental trade as a vector for introductions of non-native freshwater fishes is not well defined. We developed a framework incorporating elements of biological invasion processes and a...

Study on Invasive Alien Species – Development of risk assessments to tackle priority species and enhance prevention. Contract No 07.0202/2016/740982/ETU/ENV.D2. Final Report

Study on Invasive Alien Species – Development of risk assessments to tackle priority species and enhance prevention: Risk Assessment for Gambusia holbrooki (Girard, 1853).

Study on Invasive Alien Species – Development of risk assessments to tackle priority species and enhance prevention. Contract No 07.0202/2016/740982/ETU/ENV.D2. Final Report

Study on Invasive Alien Species – Development of risk assessments to tackle priority species and enhance prevention. Contract No 07.0202/2016/740982/ETU/ENV.D2. Final Report

Study on Invasive Alien Species – Development of risk assessments to tackle priority species and enhance prevention. Contract No 07.0202/2016/740982/ETU/ENV.D2. Final Report, Annex 3:

Background. Despite increasing reports of non-native freshwater fish dispersal in Poland, a risk assessment (RA) of their current or future impacts has not been undertaken. In this study, the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) was applied for the first time in Poland (the RA area) to determine the risk of non-native pumpkinseed Lep...

Risk Assessment for Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard, 1853)

The Working Group on the Introductions and Transfers of Marine Organisms (WGITMO) has contributed several major achievements to the ICES vision, including the first ICES Viewpoint on Biofouling and its source document, two Cooperative Research Reports, and numerous pub-lications related to ToRs, and the continued population of the AquaNIS database....

The freshwater Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK) has been applied in 35 risk assessment areas in 45 countries across the six inhabited continents (11 applications using FISK v1; 25 using FISK v2). The present study aimed: to assess the breadth of FISK applications and the confidence (certainty) levels associated with the decision-support tool’...

The European Non-native Species in Aquaculture Risk Analysis Scheme (ENSARS) was used to assess one of the most popular aquaculture species in the world, the striped catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Sauvage), in two locations of southern Anatolia (Turkey). The overall mean risk score generated for P. hypophthalmus by the ENSARS Organism module...

Environmental managers require a sensitive and reliable means to prove, with the highest level of confidence possible, where non-native fish species exist and where they do not. Therefore, a nested PCR (nPCR) protocol was developed to detect the environmental DNA (eDNA) of a case-study species, topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva, which was recent...

Risk Assessment for Gambusia holbrooki (Girard, 1853)

Standardized tools are needed to identify and prioritize the most harmful non-native species (NNS). A plethora of assessment protocols have been developed to evaluate the current and potential impacts of non-native species, but consistency among them has received limited attention. To estimate the consistency across impact assessment protocols, 89...

Assessments of the trophic consequences of invasive fishes are important for quantifying their ecological impacts on native species more generally. A small-bodied cyprinid fish native to continental Europe and introduced in the 1970s to the U.K, the sunbleak Leuciscus delineatus, has been shown previously to establish closer social associations wit...

Small, 1st and 2nd-order, headwater streams and ponds play essential roles in providing natural flood control, trapping sediments and contaminants, retaining nutrients, and maintaining biological diversity, which extend into downstream reaches, lakes and estuaries. However, the large geographic extent and high connectivity of these small water bodi...

Example on-farm mitigation measures targeting different components of the water pollution cascade.

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 d...

This two-page policy overview of problems for small water bodies and management options to address them accompanies the paper by Riley et al. (2018)

The native European freshwater cyprinid fish, common bleak Alburnus alburnus (Linnaeus, 1758), is an invasive non-native fish in the Iberian Peninsula, where it threatens the valuable endemic fish fauna. Despite the bleak's invasive status, there is a dearth of studies on the biological traits of non-native populations in Europe's Mediterranean reg...

Carotenoid‐based pigmentation is a striking feature of many taxa, yet the function, if any, of colour traits is often unclear. Pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus, a widely introduced freshwater sunfish that exhibits alternative male mating strategies, express a striking, red operculum spot. To investigate the potential function of this red spot as a sign...

Biological invasions are a threat to biodiversity, society and the economy. There is an urgent need to provide evidence‐based assessments of the risks posed by invasive alien species ( IAS ) to prioritize action. Risk assessments underpin IAS policies in many ways: informing legislation; providing justification of restrictions in trade or consumer...

The introduction of non-native species as contaminants of aquatic plant consignments is poorly documented. This paper reports on the introduction of pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus, a North American sunfish, into an angling lake as a contaminant of native aquatic plants during their stocking to enhance the fishery. Growth and life-history data for the...

The aim of this study was to identify potentially invasive non-native freshwater fishes in the middle reach of the Yarlung Zangbo River, Tibetan Plateau (China), using the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK), as decision-support tool. Based on independent evaluations of 24 non-native freshwater fishes, receiver operating curve analy...

Marine environmental monitoring is undertaken to provide evidence that environmental management targets are being met. Moreover, monitoring also provides context to marine science and over the last century has allowed development of a critical scientific understanding of the marine environment and the impacts that humans are having on it. The seas...

River rehabilitation initiatives have become commonplace in European water courses as a result of European Union Water Framework Directive requirements. However, the short-term responses of fishes to such work have thus far been varied, with some river rehabilitation efforts resulting in demonstrable improvements in diversity and size structure whe...

Invasive alien species (IAS) are a significant and growing problem worldwide. In Europe, some aspects of IAS have been addressed through existing legal instruments, but these are far from sufficient to tackle the problem in a comprehensive manner. The Top 20 IAS issues for Europe were determined at the 1st Freshwater Invasives - Networking for Stra...

This review provides a meta-analytical assessment of the global patterns and clines in the growth of Cyprinus carpio as measured by length-at-age (Lt) or von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF) parameters, mass-length relationship (W-Lt) and condition factor, based on literature data. In total, 284 studies were retrieved spanning 91years of research...

Environmental DNA (eDNA) detection of non-native species has considerable potential to inform management decisions, including identifying the need for population control and/or eradication. An invasive species of European concern is the Asian cyprinid fish, topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva). Here, eDNA analyses were applied at a fishery site i...

FISK v2 and AS-ISK risk identification screening tools were used to assess the invasiveness potential of 24 non-native (NNS) freshwater fish species in the River Neretva catchment (Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia), a risk assessment (RA) area that is an important Mediterranean hotspot of fish endemism. The two assessors assigned similar scores for...

A fundamental consideration for the conservation of a species is the extent of its native range, that is, regions naturally colonized. However, both natural processes and human-mediated introductions can drive species distribution shifts. Ruling out the human-mediated introduction of a species into a given region is vital for its conservation, but...

In China, the introduction of South American sailfin catfishes of the genus Pterygoplichthys are a concern due to the potential risks they pose to native environments. The present study reports on the distribution, establishment and maturity of a Pterygoplichthys spp. hybrid swarm in Guangdong Province, China. Distribution data demonstrate that Pte...

1. To determine whether or not signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus and native white-clawed crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes predate on European barbel Barbus barbus eggs, interstitial free-embryos and emergent larvae, experiments were undertaken in salmonid (substratum) incubators (six treatment, four controls) fitted with video recorders. 2...