20 years of marine bioinvasions research: Achievements and challenges for the Southwestern Atlantic

SCHWINDT, EVANGELINA; BATTINI, NICOLÁS; BORTOLUS, ALEJANDRO; DE OLIVEIRA RIBEIRO JUNQUEIRA, ANDREA; SCARABINO, FABRIZIO

ECOLOGÍA AUSTRAL

ASOCIACIÓN ARGENTINA DE ECOLOGÍA

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2022 vol. 32 p. 734 - 748

0327-5477

The study of marine bioinvasions was not homogenously developed worldwide and it is unclearthe amount of research effort currently applied across the Southwestern Atlantic (SWA) countries. Througha comprehensive literature review, in this work, we analyze trends, gaps and achievements in the marinebioinvasion research efforts made along the coastal-marine ecosystems of the SWA and over the last 20 years ofdevelopment, and we identify current challenges to further strengthening regional and international policies andmanagement decisions concerning coastal-marine invasive species. Our analysis showed an exponential growthin the research effort, mostly focused on ecological pa�erns of non-native species, while other categories ofstudies (e.g., processes, management, methodological and socio-ecological) received significantly less a�ention.We found a high prevalence of national studies, while regional and international collaborations were virtuallynil. Although the three countries in the region have made important achievements regarding the study andmanagement of marine bioinvasions, changing this unbalance in the research effort between national andinternational collaborations, and specifically the limited scientific collaborations across the SWA countries,should be a top priority to be�er deal with marine bioinvasions in a regional and global context.