6. Action to Control the spread of Non-Native Invasive Species
The threat from non-native invasive species is as serious as habitat destruction. To emphasis just how serious a threat exists to local biodiversity within the Lough Neagh Wetlands, this Local Biodiversity Action Plan contains a Non-Naive Invasive Species Action Plan. The Local Biodiversity Partnership for the Lough Neagh Wetlands includes Conservation Volunteers Northern Ireland (CVNI). An Invasive Species Officer has been appointed by CVNI to help deliver action locally.
The economic and social costs of non-native invasive species can be immense. A particularly prominent case is the introduction of the European zebra mussel to the Great Lakes of North America. This case is relevant to Lough Neagh, where the zebra mussel has been discovered for the first time in 2005.
In the Great Lakes of North America, zebra mussels smother native clams and mussels and cluster around warm water outflow pipes from power stations. Mitigating the damage caused by zebra mussels has so far cost the USA 5 billion dollars!
10% of non-native species imported into a region subsequently appear in the wild, 10% of these establish themselves as self-sustaining populations and 10% of the established species, i.e. 0.1% of imported species, then become invasive.
On a global scale, the most severe impacts of non-native species on native biodiversity have occurred on remote islands, where the native flora and fauna is less diverse, more isolated and so is more susceptible to invasion. Ireland is comparatively isolated from continental Europe, reflecting its separation by sea since the last glaciation. As a result Ireland is home to a reduced number of native species in comparison with much of continental Europe. Increasing global trade and migration over the last century have led to a marked increase in the rates of species introductions to Ireland, resulting in more frequent and noticeable impacts upon native biodiversity.
In the Lough Neagh Wetlands, efforts to prevent the introduction and spread of non-native invasive species will continue alongside efforts to create, restore and manage habitats, and efforts to restore and expand native species populations.