Risk Assessment & annex on measures for Axis deer Axis axis (Erxleben, 1777): Risk assessment developed under the "Study on Invasive Alien Species – Development of risk assessments to tackle priority species and enhance prevention" Contract No 07.0202/2018/788519/ETU/ENV.D.2

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 environments. Here we present ten risk assessments and associated management annexes for IAS produced over the last year. The selected species were Channa argus (northern snakehead), Ameiurus melas (black bullhead), Ameiurus nebulosus (brown bullhead), Wasmannia auropunctata (little fire ant), Axis axis (chital), Pycnonotus cafer (red-vented bulbul), Fallopia baldschuanica (Russian vine), Phytolacca americana (American pokeweed), Boccardia proboscidea (polychaete worm), Schizoporella japonica (orange ripple bryozoan). The risk assessments and associated management annexes were produced alongside tasks to develop and maintain a risk assessment template and to collect evidence on management techniques, implementation costs and cost-effectiveness. A two-day workshop was held to finalise the risk assessments following peer-review. The risk assessments will be used as evidence to inform whether the target species should be considered for inclusion on the list of invasive alien species of Union concern under Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species (the IAS Regulation).