Managing invasive aquatic plants: problems and prospects

Citation

Willby N (2007) Managing invasive aquatic plants: problems and prospects. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 17 (7), pp. 659-665. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.913

Abstract
By common consent biological invasions are a major cause of biodiversity loss. In fresh waters invasive aquatic plants (IAP) attract considerable attention. To some extent this is deserved since they spread rapidly and are highly conspicuous, often to the casual observer, in a way that the large number of invasive molluscs and amphipods, for example, are not. Invasive aquatic plants provoke a variety of reactions. Many ecologists (myself included) might, I suspect, confess to a sneaking admiration for plants which, although thousands of miles from home, can still turn a water body yellow or pink, seemingly almost overnight. Other reactions to IAP range between well-founded anxiety over the fate of rare native species through to those more often associated with right wing tabloids when discussing human immigration matters. The management of IAP presents considerable challenges for conservationists. This editorial addresses, from a UK perspective, what are seen as some of the major problems in meeting this challenge, the progress that has been made and the prospects for the future.

Notes
Output Type: Editorial

Journal
Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems: Volume 17, Issue 7