A protocol for screening potentially invasive non-native species using Weed Risk Assessment-type decision-support...

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Environmental Management
• Conservation Biology

Background:

• Electronic decision-support tools are increasingly used globally to identify potentially invasive non-native species.
• These tools aid in policy and management decisions to prevent or mitigate the impacts of biological invasions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review analytical approaches for calibrating scores from the Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) and its adaptations.
• To provide a standardized protocol for screening potentially invasive species using WRA-type toolkits.

Main Methods:

• Review of analytical approaches for WRA score calibration.
• Development of a protocol including assessor identification, risk assessment area definition, species selection criteria, and a priori categorization.
• Computation of thresholds to distinguish between high-risk and medium-risk non-native species.

Main Results:

• A comprehensive protocol for applying Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) is established.
• The protocol standardizes key steps in the screening process for potentially invasive species.
• It enables statistically robust distinction between high-risk and medium-risk non-native species.

Conclusions:

• The developed analytical approach provides an evidence-based and statistically robust method for informing decision-makers on potentially invasive species.
• This protocol is expected to serve as a general reference for future applications of WRA-type toolkits.
• It supports effective policy and management strategies for biological invasions.