Guarding European Waters from IAS (GuardIAS)

GuardIAS builds on the best practises in global biosecurity and combines cutting-edge science, new technologies, innovative techniques, and information systems within a transdisciplinary framework to provide effective, technologically feasible, and socially acceptable solutions. We will apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) and new data workflows to systematically query multiple biodiversity databases for species
distribution, environmental tolerances, biological traits, and genetic information, enhancing EASIN and harmonizing key datasets. This will improve IAS impact profiling and effective invasion prevention and
management. The world-leading citizen science (CS) platform iNaturalist (using AI to identify species from smartphone photos) will be enhanced with expert-verified images of aquatic IAS to aid early detection at borders and track the geographic spread of IAS. Among the most important pathways for aquatic IAS introduction and further spread are the discharge of ballast
water, hull biofouling, and the movement of recreational boats. While the introduction of IAS through ballast water is expected to be effectively tackled by the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC),
biofouling remains a primary global pathway for IAS introductions,since it is regulated only by voluntary IMO guidelines. For this reason, GuardIAS focuses on innovative prevention of new introductions through hull biofouling by exploring emerging nanotechnology-based antifouling coatings. GuardIAS will also investigate the movement patterns of recreational boats along European coastlines, a significant but understudied factor in IAS secondary dispersal. An eDNA reference library and assay panel will be developed to aid effective IAS detection. Macroecological
and biogeographic trait analysis and cutting-edge models (e.g. the Nobel-Prize-winning MRIO - Multi-Region Input-Output analysis) will assess the risks of IAS introduction and spread, including risks to threatened species,
critical habitats, and areas of conservation importance at present and under future invasion scenarios. Systematic conservation planning tools will be used for the first time to prioritize IAS monitoring and management actions
based on their impacts on Red List species and under invasion scenarios. GuardIAS will boost data collection, monitoring, early detection, and IAS literacy through innovative Citizen Science initiatives, including BioArtBlitz events (a novel type of event where figurative and performative arts will be used as a vehicle for communication and engagement), eDNA sampling, sound analysis in a Zooniverse project, and marina events for boaters. We will further engage stakeholders (policy makers, industry, scientists, aquatic managers and control officers, the public, youth, and educational institutions) through innovative tools, such as applied games. GuardIAS will co-design with environmental authorities, the industry, and aquatic managers, and implement numerous eradication and control efforts in both the marine and freshwater environments. By integrating Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), GuardIAS will advance collaborative knowledge creation, facilitate comprehension of public perceptions on the significance of managing IAS, and facilitate exploitation of the project’s outcomes. Particularly in marine settings, the project aims to dispel the notion that post-establishment IAS management is futile, demonstrating tangible solutions for the implementation of Articles 17 and 19 of the IAS Regulation.