Recently, Zhongshan Port Customs intercepted the Latin cockroach species in the logs entering the country at the Zhongshan Port Shore. This is the first new species reported globally.
What is the new species Latin cockroach?
Cockroaches, commonly known as cockroaches, there are more than 4,000 known species, Latin cockroaches are a species of cockroaches, for the Latin cockroach genus (Latindia), which belongs to the subfamily Latindiinae of the Corydiidae family, mainly distributed in Latin America. As one of the important vector organisms monitored at customs ports, it has strong adaptability and fecundity, and as an alien species, it is easy to pose a threat to the ecological environment of the invasion area. Because of its flat size, it is easy to hide in imported goods and is carried into the country, becoming a "smugglard".
As a major commodity trading country, the mainland has frequent flows of people and goods, which also provides conditions for these "smugglers", coupled with human factors and other factors, the way of species invasion is more hidden and complex. At the same time, the continental climatic conditions are diverse, and most invasive alien species can find suitable living space, which will not only seriously affect the ecological balance of the invasion area, but also endanger biodiversity and ecological security, affect the sustainable development of the invasive area, and cause huge economic losses. In view of the severe situation of invasive alien species invasion in the mainland, the Measures for the Management of Invasive Alien Species promulgated by the mainland have been officially implemented on August 1, 2022.
What are the hazards of invasive alien species?
The continent is one of the countries in the world that has suffered the most from the invasion of alien species. In May 2021, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the mainland issued the "2020 Communiqué on the State of China's Ecology and Environment" pointed out that there are more than 660 invasive alien species in the mainland, of which 71 have caused substantial harm to the natural ecological environment of the invasion area and are included in the "List of Invasive Alien Species in China". A further 219 species have invaded national nature reserves, posing a threat to the ecological environment and species of these reserves. Invasive species cause direct economic losses to the mainland of more than 200 billion yuan every year.
In the case of fall armyworm, for example, the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) originated in the Americas and was first identified in Nigeria, Africa, in early 2016. As of early 2018, it has spread to most of the African continent, and in 2019, many Asian countries, including the mainland, were affected by it. This insect has a strong preference for corn, and more than 80 kinds of crops, such as sugar cane and rice, can also be included in its diet. It has been found in more than 20 provinces on the mainland, posing a threat to tens of millions of mu of crops.
The invasion of alien species is one of the important causes of species extinction and biodiversity loss in invasive areas, and it is also one of the important factors threatening local biosecurity and food security. Its harm is mainly manifested in the following aspects: first, it squeezes the living space of local species, causing serious harm to the local natural ecological balance, causing local species to die or become extinct; Second, the proliferation of invasive species threatens ecological security, threatens the safety of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, and causes unnecessary economic losses; Third, invasive species will interbreed with local related related species, interfering with and polluting local biological inheritance and gene diversity; Fourth, it threatens the health of humans and livestock.
What are the main ways in which alien species invade the continent?
The main ways for alien species to enter the mainland are man-made introduction, "smuggling" entry, natural entry and so on. First of all, let's talk about artificial introduction, this is our most common way of entry, our most common artificial introduction of species are many, not all artificial introduction is wrong, people can not mention the introduction of "color change", the original intention of the introduction in addition to biological control, natural greening, soil and water conservation, ornamental, medicinal and other uses, but also rich food sources, to ensure food security, expand diet and other positive effects. It is only because of blind introduction, irregular operation or historical factors that the introduced species have become invasive species, threatening the food security and ecological security of the mainland. For example, the Canadian goldenrod, introduced to China as an ornamental plant in 1935, escaped to form weeds after introduction, and is a malignant weed. Another example is Tilapia, which was originally introduced for farming, and with the spillover of species, Tilapia Qi has become a threat to natural aquatic ecosystems.
"Smuggling" entry, as the name suggests is intentional or unintentional entrainment, the mainland is a large trading country, these "smugglers" will enter with imported goods or inbound personnel, which is also an important way for invasive species, pine wood nematodes into the mainland is brought in through the material and packaging of imported equipment; Fruits or meats carried by people entering the country are also the way many alien species invade. For example, pine wood nematodes are the continents that follow imported wood, including this time Latin cockroach species, or items entrained, such as imported grain mixed with other seeds. Of course, in addition to imported items, there are also human factors, including intentional illegal and criminal acts and unintentional entrainment, which are the ways in which many alien species invade.
There are many ways of natural entry, and there are also controversies in the academic community, let's count it as a way here, there are many examples of invasions caused by species that enter naturally, in addition to the migration of animals in nature, there may also be natural entry after human factors.
Regarding the prevention of invasive alien species, the author makes several suggestions.
1. Establish and improve relevant laws and regulations on the prevention and control of invasion of alien species.
Previously, the management of alien species was only mentioned in the Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Nature Reserves provided for the risk control of the introduction of alien species in nature reserves, and the real systematic treatment of related issues was also after the implementation of the Biosecurity Law. From August 1, 2022, the mainland has implemented the Measures for the Management of Invasive Alien Species, which is the first management measures for the prevention and control of alien species in the mainland, which has made relevant provisions on source prevention, monitoring and early warning, treatment and restoration from the level of laws and regulations, but it is still necessary to continuously refine and improve the specific implementation rules and strengthen legislation.
2. It is necessary to build a management mechanism for grade and classification assessment.
For alien species, it is necessary to build a hierarchical and taxonomic assessment and management mechanism, and it is necessary to clarify which species must be strictly prohibited from artificial breeding and which species must be strictly prohibited from introduction, and hierarchical management. For species that have been introduced, it is necessary to strengthen the dynamic assessment and categorical management of ecological security, and once it is found that it poses a threat to the ecosystem, it should be included in the list of invasive species, and breeding and breeding are strictly prohibited. Regarding the risk assessment of alien species, it is necessary to pay attention to their survival and spread ability in the place of introduction, generally speaking, the stronger the dispersal capacity of alien species, the higher its risk factor, and then it is necessary to pay attention to the degree of harm of alien species to native species and the degree of damage to ecosystems. For example, the aforementioned alligator eel has limited economic value but is extremely harmful to native species, and Qi's tilapia has economic value but has great ecological damage to natural water bodies. It is also necessary to pay attention to the global invasion hotspots of alien species, and pay attention to the impact of environment, climate, temperature, humidity and other factors on alien species, and do a good job in prediction and monitoring. Therefore, the establishment of a hierarchical and taxonomic assessment management mechanism can better and targeted prevention and control of alien species.
3. It is necessary to strengthen law popularization and popular science education for the public, and enhance the public's awareness of preventing the invasion of alien species.
There are many ways for alien species to enter the mainland, but the most core factor is people, whether it is intentional violations of the law or unintentional entrainment, human participation is required, strengthening the public's legal popularization and popular science education, improving citizens' legal awareness and scientific literacy is very important to prevent alien species. Random introduction without permission, in the final analysis, is people's pursuit of interests, and in essence, people's weak awareness of the law. Then there is the problem of release, which has become a stubborn disease, and the key factor that can spread rapidly after invasive species enter the mainland is caused by human release. For example, the alligator eel, this species can be found overnight in many places north and south of the river, in addition to the illegal and criminal factors of bad businesses, it is man-made release.
Therefore, under the premise of strengthening the management of alien species, especially ornamental species, it is necessary to strengthen the popularization of law and science education for the public, and enhance the public's awareness of preventing the invasion of alien species.
4. Need to add the construction of natural barriers.
To prevent the invasion of alien species, in addition to increasing legislation and management, and increasing publicity and education, it is also necessary to build a natural protection barrier, protect the native ecological environment, and build an ecological Great Wall against the invasion of alien species. Nature-based solutions are needed to protect native biodiversity, and the richer the indigenous biodiversity, the better the effectiveness of preventing and controlling alien species. Therefore, the construction of natural barriers needs to be accelerated.
Article: Pierre Review: Lao Xia Editor: Today's headlines
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