
Hugo VerreyckenResearch Institute for Nature and Forest | INBO
Hugo Verreycken
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Publications (85)
Biological invasions and human migrations have increased globally due to socio-economic drivers and environmental factors that have enhanced cultural, economic, and geographic connectivity. Both processes involve the movement, establishment, and spread of species, yet unfold within fundamentally different philosophical, social and biological contex...
As a result of the increasing threats posed by non-native species invasions, there has been a rise in the demand for decision support tools that can more efficiently identify those non-native species likely to become invasive. As part of the risk screening (first) step in the environmental risk analysis process, three multilingual decision support...
In invasion biology, terminological frameworks contribute to the improvement of effective communication among scientists, stakeholders, and policy-makers. This is important not only for informing policy decisions but also for engaging the broader public in understanding the risks associated with biological invasions. Meanwhile, the role of non-Engl...
Standardized terminology in science is important for clarity of interpretation and communication. In invasion science – a dynamic and rapidly evolving discipline – the proliferation of technical terminology has lacked a standardized framework for its development. The result is a convoluted and inconsistent usage of terminology, with various discrep...
Under the increasing threat to native ecosystems posed by non-native species invasions, there is an urgent need for decision support tools that can more effectively identify non-native species likely to become invasive. As part of the screening (first step) component in non-native species risk analysis, decision support tools have been developed fo...
Standardized terminology in science is important for clarity of interpretation and communication. In invasion science — a dynamic and quickly evolving discipline — the rapid proliferation of technical terminology has lacked a standardized framework for its language development. The result is a convoluted and inconsistent usage of terminology, with...
The 22nd International Conference on Aquatic Invasive Species (ICAIS) was held
as a hybrid event in Oostende, Belgium from 18–22 April 2022. The conference
addressed the theme of “Global Climate Change Amplifies Aquatic Invasive Species
Impacts” and aimed to expand knowledge on the latest science and policy, inspire
cooperation and collaboration on...
Rates of biological invasion have increased over recent centuries and are expected to increase in the future. Whereas increasing rates of non-native species incursions across realms, taxonomic groups, and regions are well-reported, trends in abundances within these contexts have lacked analysis due to a paucity of long-term data at large spatiotemp...
This manual has been produced through the European Commission (EC) service contract ‘Identification, Assessment, Sharing and Dissemination of Best Practices for Humane Management of Invasive Alien Species’ (07.027746/2019/812504/SER/ENV.D.2.). The aim of this project was to provide support for the management of vertebrate invasive alien species (ve...
Electronic decision-support tools are becoming an essential component of government strategies to tackle non-native species invasions. This study describes the development and application of a multilingual electronic decision-support tool for screening terrestrial animals under current and future climate conditions: the Terrestrial Animal Species I...
This manual has been produced through the European Commission (EC) service contract ‘Identification, Assessment, Sharing and Dissemination of Best Practices for Humane Management of Invasive Alien Species’ (07.027746/2019/812504/SER/ENV.D.2.). The aim of this project was to provide support for the management of vertebrate invasive alien species (ve...
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...
Until recently, Belgium was spared from the establishment of Asian weatherfishes, globally spreading IAS by intentional and unintentional spillover from the food and aquarium trade. In spring 2019 however, some individuals were captured in a small pond in a nature reserve close to an area across the border with The Netherlands where a proliferating...
This datasheet on Umbra pygmaea covers Identity, Overview, Distribution, Dispersal, Diagnosis, Biology & Ecology, Environmental Requirements, Natural Enemies, Impacts, Uses, Prevention/Control, Further Information.
The understanding of the evolution of variable sex determination mechanisms across taxa requires comparative studies among closely related species. Following the fate of a known master sex-determining gene, we traced the evolution of sex determination in an entire teleost order (Esociformes). We discovered that the northern pike (Esox lucius) maste...
This report represents an extended version of the chapter on Invasive Alien Species of the
Flemish State of the Environment report 2020. Invasive Alien Species represent a growing
threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services in the region. This report describes the current situation of introductions and impact of alien species in Flanders and revi...
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 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...
Rapid adaptation to global change can counter vulnerability of species to population declines and extinction. Theoretically, under such circumstances both genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity can maintain population fitness, but empirical support for this is currently limited. Here, we aim to characterize the role of environmental and geneti...
Prioritising the management of invasive alien species (IAS) is of global importance and within Europe integral to the EU IAS regulation. To prioritise management effectively the risks posed by IAS need to be assessed, but so too does the feasibility of their management. While the risk of IAS to the EU has been assessed, the feasibility of managemen...
Oriental Weather Loaches are invasive fish species preferring lentic
waterbodies, such as backwaters, streams, swamps and periodically
flooded pools and meadows. There are seven species described within
this genus Misgurnus and several of them are increasingly spreading
as invasive species across the globe. In 2019 a first observation of
an Orienta...
Citation: Grimm J, Dick JTA, Verreycken H, Jeschke JM, Linzmaier S, Ricciardi A (2020) Context-dependent differences in the functional responses of conspecific native and non-native crayfishes. NeoBiota 54: 71-88. https://doi. Abstract Invasive species are proliferating globally and cause a range of impacts, necessitating risk assessment and priori...
Evidence-based assessments of the risks posed by invasive alien species (IAS)
are critical to underpin policies and prioritise action. Over the last three years, a template
for producing structured risk assessments has been developed and tested for thirty
selected species spanning various taxonomic groups across marine, terrestrial and
freshwater e...
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:
Risk Assessment for Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard, 1853)
In September 2018, the first specimen of the naked goby, Gobiosoma bosc (Lacepède, 1800), was caught in a mid-water beam trawl from an anchored boat in the Zeeschelde in the north of Belgium. This small goby is a North American fish species and was probably introduced to the newly reported location via ballast water discharge of transoceanic vessel...
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’...
Risk Assessment for Gambusia holbrooki (Girard, 1853)
Recently, a body of literature has indicated the utility of comparisons among introduced and native species of their functional responses, that is, the relationship between resource use (e.g. predator consumption rate) and resource availability (e.g. prey density) to predict their impact. However, a key feature of this methodology, that has not yet...
Red Lists estimate the extinction risk of species at global or regional levels and areimportant instruments in conservation policies. Global Red List assessments are readilyavailable via the IUCN website (https://www.iucnredlist.org) and are regularly updated by(taxonomic) experts. Regional Red Lists, however, are not always easy to find and oftenu...
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...
In dit achtergronddocument wordt ingegaan op deze veranderingen en worden de veranderingen in de namenlijst van de Nederlandse en Vlaamse zoetwatervissen beargumenteerd. We beogen hiermee eenduidigheid te scheppen in het naamgebruik voor de zoetwatervissen die in Nederland en Vlaanderen voorkomen.
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...
This annual report provides a summary of the status of the indicators concerning the European Biodiversity Strategy targets.
For Target 1, the conclusions at the Flemish level are in line with the EU Mid Term Review. For example, a small number of habitats and species of the Habitat Directive are improving slightly, but the majority are still in...
Papers collected for the present special issue of Aquatic Invasions are representative samples of topics from the ICAIS, CWE and SIL meetings. Highlights of these studies are structured into five themes: 1) Early detection and monitoring of invasive species, 2) Drivers of biological invasions, 3) Factors determining invasion success, 4) Impacts on...
Risk assessment tools for listing invasive alien species need to incorporate all available evidence and expertise. Beyond the wealth of protocols developed to date, we argue that the current way of performing risk analysis has several shortcomings. In particular, lack of data on ecological impacts, transparency and repeatability of assessments as w...
The dataset provides a shapefile on the baseline distribution of the invasive species of EU concern in Belgium based on an aggregated dataset (ias_belgium_t0_2016). Data were compiled from various datasets holding invasive species observations such as data from research institutes and research projects (76%), citizen science observatories (23%) and...
We assessed how establishment patterns of non-native freshwater, marine and terrestrial species into Northwest Europe (using Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands as the study countries) have changed over time, and identified the prevalent pathways and vectors of recent arrivals. Data were extracted from 33 sources on (a) presence/abse...
Tackling invasive alien species in Flanders (north Belgium) - Flanders is a highly urbanized area in Europe
and a global invasion hotspot. Prioritization is key to managing invasive species and requires a solid evidence base in risk analysis. The EU regulation (EU 1143/2014) on the prevention of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species...
We assessed how establishment patterns of non-native freshwater, marine and terrestrial species into Northwest Europe (using Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands as the study countries) have changed over time, and identified the prevalent pathways and vectors of recent arrivals. Data were extracted from 33 sources on (a) presence/abse...
Topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva) is one of the most invasive aquatic fish species in Europe and causes adverse effects to ecosystem structure and functioning. Knowledge and understanding of the species’ interactions with the environment and with native fish are important to stop and prevent the further spread of the species. Creating species...
Vlaanderen onderschreef de Europese doelstelling om tegen 2020 het verlies van biodiversiteit te stoppen.
Al in 2001 engageerde de Europese Unie zich om op haar grondgebied het verlies van biodiversiteit
tegen 2010 te stoppen. Deze doelstelling werd evenwel niet gehaald (EEA, 2010). Bijna een kwart
van de wilde soorten is met uitsterven bedreigd in...
A coherent response to biological invasions involves science-based, up-to-date prioritization tools alongside information transfer to relevant authorities and stakeholders. Here, we describe how the collaboration between scientists and policy makers in Belgium has allowed the development of decision support tools regarding invasive alien species. W...
Non-indigenous species may have negative impacts on the native fauna in their competition for food and habitat, but they can also introduce non-indigenous parasite species, with sometimes devastating consequences. Co-introduction of parasites should therefore be carefully monitored, but this aspect is mostly overlooked. The round goby Neogobius mel...
Ecological theory attempts to predict how impacts for native species arise from biological invasions. A fundamental question centres on the feeding interactions of invasive and native species: whether invasion will result in increased interspecific competition, which would result in negative consequences for the competing species, or trophic niche...
The Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) has been performing standardized fish stock assessments in Flanders, Belgium. This Flemish Fish Monitoring Network aims to assess fish populations in public waters at regular time intervals in both inland waters and estuaries. This monitoring was set up in support of the Water Framework Directive,...
In dit rapport geven we een update van de stand van zaken van de natuurindicatoren anno 2014 in Vlaanderen.Op basis van de 36 natuurindicatoren worden hieronder de belangrijkste bevindingen in een aantal thema’s samengebracht en kort toegelicht.
In dit rapport geven we een update van de stand van zaken van de natuurindicatoren anno 2014 in Vlaanderen. Op basis van de 36 natuurindicatoren worden hieronder de belangrijkste bevindingen in een aantal thema’s samengebracht en kort toegelicht.
The invasion of Ponto-Caspian taxa in Western Europe has increased steadily since the connection of the Danube basin with the Rhine basin in 1992, in combination with transfers through interbasin shipping. In 2010, the tubenose goby (Proterorhinus semilunaris) and round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) were observed in Belgium for the first time. To g...
Red Lists are used to assess the extinction risk of species. Regional IUCN criteria were applied to
categorise 42 indigenous freshwater fish species in Flanders into Red List categories. As such, three species are
assessed as Regionally Extinct, eight as Critically Endangered, two as Endangered and eight as Vulnerable. A further
five species are co...
Non-native species can cause negative impacts when they become invasive. This study entails a comparison of risk classifications for 25 aquatic non-native species using various European risk identification protocols. For 72% of the species assessed, risk classifications were dissimilar between countries. The pair-wise comparison of Freshwater Fish...
Nearly 263 000 individual length–weight (L/W) data, collected during 2839 fish stock assessments between 1992 and 2009, were used to calculate L/W relationships (W = aLb) of 40 freshwater fish species from Flanders (Belgium). Roach Rutilus rutilus, perch Perca fluviatilis, three‐spine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus, gudgeon Gobio gobio and Euro...
The western tubenose goby, Proterorhinus semilunaris, of Ponto-Caspian origin, already recorded in 2002 from the lowest course of the Dutch River Meuse, was caught upstream for the first time in 2008 in the Border Meuse, the river-stretch forming the border between Belgium and the Netherlands. In 2009 it reached the upstream extremity of the Border...
Almost six years after the first finding of the round goby Neogobius melanostomus (Gobiidae) in the Netherlands, several specimens of this invasive Ponto-Caspian benthic fish were also recorded in the Belgian part of the River Scheldt and in the Albert Canal. This is the first record of the round goby in Belgium.
In recent years, policy-makers have sought the development of appropriate tools to prevent and manage introductions of invasive species. However, these tools are not well suited for introductions of non-target species that are unknowingly released alongside intentionally-introduced species. The most compelling example of such invasion is arguably t...
The eastern mudminnow Umbra pygmaea (DeKay, 1842) originates from the eastern part of the United States of America and was transferred to Europe already at the beginning of the 20th century. This paper summarizes the current distribution in Europe and adds an extended dataset of eastern mudminnow records in Flanders (Belgium). The core of the Eur o...
To evaluate the potential invasiveness of pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus introduced to northwestern European inland waters, growth and reproduction traits were examined in ten populations along a trajectory spanning northwestern Europe (Norway, England, Holland, Belgium and France) and evaluated in light of published dataset from Europe. In the 848 p...
Fourteen non-indigenous fish species have been successfully introduced to the wild within the territory of Flanders; nine are considered naturalized. Most of the introductions occurred prior to 1950, with six species introduced since then. This paper reviews the available, hitherto scattered, information (including ‘grey literature’) on these 14 no...
IntroductionMaterials and methodsResultsDiscussionAcknowledgements
A major problem in evaluating biological invasions is the lack of information on failed non-native species introductions, with invasiveness determined purely on establishment successes. This is the case of topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva, an Asiatic cyprinid fish that now occurs throughout most of Europe and is said to be highly invasive. Alth...