Diapterus brevirostris (Sauvage, 1879) is a fish of the family Gerreidae, native to the tropical and subtropical waters of the Pacific coast of America. A specimen of this species was captured off the coast of Asturias, Spain. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first record of the genus Diapterus in the North Atlantic. Given its small size (6.4 cm), it is likely that the species was present in the area for a relatively short time. Although the introduction pathway is unknown, the species' native area and the proximity of a major port to the site of capture suggest that ship's ballast water is the most likely vector of introduction.

Invasive species can disrupt food webs by altering the abundance of prey species or integrating into the food web themselves. In the Gulf of Maine, there have been a suite of invasions that have altered the composition of the benthic ecosystem. These novel prey species can potentially benefit native predators depending on their nutritional value and relative abundance. We measured feeding instances of the native blood star, Henricia sanguinolenta, and changes in the seasonal abundances of invasive ascidian prey species. Results indicate that H. sanguinolenta forages optimally, as the blood star will prey on invasive ascidians when in high abundance, but feed on other species during periods of scarcity. Further, our study shows that blood stars prey on a wider variety of species than was previously known, such as small bivalves and barnacles. Additionally, we compared growth and reproduction of sea stars fed different combinations of invasive ascidians (Diplosoma listerianum or Botrylloides violaceus) or a native sponge (Haliclona oculata). Sea stars grew more on the native diet when compared with the invasive ascidian species, and D. listerianum appeared to be a superior quality food source when compared with B. violaceus. By comparing our data with historical data, we determined that there was a dramatic increase in sea star populations between 1980 and 2011, but then populations decreased by almost half from 2011 to 2016–2017. These data suggest that while invasive ascidians may have helped sea star populations at one point, sea stars are declining without their native food source.

The Área de Conservación Osa (ACOSA) contains the largest population of Scarlet Macaws Ara macao in Costa Rica. Despite their influence on ecosystem dynamics and status as a flagship species, empirical data on the foraging patterns of this population is lacking. This information is crucial in implementing effective conservation strategies, particularly reintroduction attempts. Observations of feeding behaviour were made systematically over a 12-month period to provide the first direct examination of Scarlet Macaw diet within the ACOSA region. Scarlet Macaws feed on various items including seeds, flowers, bark, and leaf-gall larvae. Key findings included a demonstration of a smaller dietary niche breadth than that recorded for other Central American populations, use of button mangrove Conocarpus erectus, a species not previously recognised as a food source for Scarlet Macaws, and a heavy reliance on an exotic non-native species, Terminalia catappa. We argue that whilst human-modified coastal locations may present viable habitat for Scarlet Macaws, anthropogenic influences including the removal of native food sources and proliferation of exotic and cultivated species have left the Scarlet Macaws of the ACOSA particularly dependent on a small number of species.

The harsh climatic conditions and low levels of human activity in Antarctica, relative to other regions, means few non-native species have established. However, the risk of introductions is becoming greater as human activity increases. Non-native microorganisms can be imported to Antarctica in association with fresh food, cargo and personal clothing, but the likelihood of their establishment is not well understood. In January 2015, a wooden packing crate, heavily contaminated with fungi, was imported by aircraft from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Rothera Research Station, Antarctica. Mucor racemosus Bull. and two strains of Trichoderma viridescens (A.S. Horne & H.S. Will.) Jaklitsch & Samuels were isolated from the wood. Measurements of hyphal extension rates indicated that all three strains were psychrotolerant and capable of growth at 4°C, with M. racemosus growing at 0°C. The imported fungi could grow at rates equivalent to, or faster than, species isolated from Antarctic soils, suggesting that low temperature may not be a limiting factor for establishment. It is recommended that wood heat-treatment standards, equivalent to those described in the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15, are employed by national operators importing cargo into Antarctica, and that treated wood is adequately stored to prevent fungal contamination prior to transportation.

Non-native species impact tropical ecosystems, but the role of different anthropogenic disturbances on the success of non-natives remains unclear, especially in island tropical forests. We sought to understand the influence of anthropogenic habitat degradation and disturbance on non-native plant species in Madagascar. Specifically, we evaluated how densities of non-native species of woody shrub (Lantana camara), climber (Mucuna pruriens) and tree (Mangifera indica, Albizia lebbeck, Tamarindus indica) varied with forest habitat degradation and by disturbance type. We surveyed 60400 m2, recording 482 instances of disturbance and 903 non-native plants in and around the Ankarana National Park. Non-native plant densities were higher in degraded than primary forest. Within degraded forest, densities of non-native trees increased with disturbance. Tree densities correlated with extent of tree damage only in Tamarindus indica, never correlated with extent of tree removal, and always correlated with proximity to roads and trails. Our results suggest roads and trails have relatively greater importance in facilitating the success of non-native tree species than structural changes to habitat. In contrast, densities of Lantana camara and Tamarindus indica did not correlate with any measured type of disturbance; other unmeasured or historical factors may be more important drivers of these smaller, faster-reproducing species.

This review addresses the cortical basis of phonetic processing in bilinguals and of phonetic learning, with a focus on functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of phonetic perception. Although results vary across studies depending on stimulus characteristics, task demands, and participants’ previous experience with the non-native/second-language sounds, taken together, the literature reveals involvement of overlapping brain regions during phonetic processing in the first and second language of bilinguals, with special involvement of regions of the dorsal audio-motor interface including frontal and posterior cortices during the processing of new, or ‘difficult’ speech sounds. These findings converge with the brain imaging literature on language processing in bilinguals more generally, during semantic and syntactic processing of words and of connected speech. More brain imaging work can serve to better elucidate the precise mechanisms underlying phonetic encoding and its interaction with articulatory processes, in particular where multiple phonetic repertoires have been or are being acquired.

In contemporary environmental conservation, species are judged in terms of their origin (‘nativeness’), as well as their behaviour and impacts (‘invasiveness’). In many instances, however, the term ‘non-native’ has been used as a proxy for harmfulness, implying the need for control. Some scientists have attempted to discourage this practice, on the grounds that it is inappropriate and counterproductive to judge species on their origin alone. However, to date, no empirical data exist on the degree to which nativeness in itself (that is, a species’ origin) shapes people's attitudes towards management interventions in practice. This study addresses this void, demonstrating empirically that both the public and invasive species professionals largely ignore a species’ origin when evaluating the need for conservation action. Through a questionnaire-based survey of the general public and invasive species experts in both Scotland and Canada, the study revealed that perceived abundance and damage to nature and the economy, rather than non-nativeness, informed attitudes towards species management, empirically substantiating the claim that a species’ perceived abundance and impact, and not its origin, is what really matters to most people. Natural resource management should thus focus explicitly on impact-related criteria, rather than on a species’ origin.

The recently described Escharoides bishopi and the non-native Fenestrulina delicia are recorded for the first time from British waters.

The north-west Pacific kelp, Undaria pinnatifida, was first discovered in Europe on the Mediterranean coast of France (1971) and introduced to Brittany for aquaculture (1983). In the north-east Atlantic, it occurs in Spain, France, the British Isles, Belgium and Holland. The first UK record was in the Hamble estuary (1994) and it was found off Plymouth in 2003. The UK distribution is presently restricted to the south of England and the northern Irish Sea. We assessed the distribution of U. pinnatifida and native kelps and their allies in Plymouth Sound (at 0 to +1 m relative to Chart Datum). Undaria pinnatifida was widespread along rocky shores, on other hard substrata and grew in the same areas as Saccharina latissima and Saccorhiza polyschides. Undaria pinnatifida was significantly more abundant on vertical substrata than on upward-facing hard substrata. It was almost as common as all of the other kelp species combined on vertical substrata but was outnumbered by native species on upward-facing substrata. Undaria pinnatifida has become the visually dominant macroalga in marinas and has spread to surrounding natural habitats in Plymouth Sound. The extent to which it will outcompete native kelps requires monitoring, especially in conservation areas.

Our study tracked three non-native, marine, sessile, invertebrate species which have recently colonized the south-eastern United States Atlantic coastlines and estuaries: Mytella charruana, the charru mussel; Perna viridis, the Asian green mussel; and Megabalanus coccopoma, the titan acorn barnacle. Along the eastern Floridian coast, Mytella charruana was discovered in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida (FL) in 2004. Perna viridis was found in Ponce de Leon Inlet, FL in 2002, after being introduced to Tampa Bay, FL in 1989. Megabalanus coccopoma was documented in St Augustine, FL and Brunswick, Georgia in 2006. From 2006 through to 2011, a biannual survey of the south-eastern Atlantic coastlines and estuaries was conducted from Jupiter, Florida to Charleston, South Carolina (894 km) to document the distribution and range expansion of M. charruana, P. viridis and M. coccopoma. Field surveys were conducted in June and December each year at 82 sites (e.g. docks, boat ramps, jetties and mangrove roots). The ranges of the three invertebrates have expanded and retracted along the Atlantic coast since the survey began. Mytella charruana had spread as far north as Savannah, Georgia in 2007, but the species was absent from northern Georgia in 2010 and 2011. Perna viridis and M. coccopoma were present in Georgia in 2007, but were absent in the 2010 and 2011 surveys. These range fluctuations may be explained by extreme cold temperatures, which occurred during the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 winters. The patterns observed with these three sessile invertebrates provide information regarding how non-native species disperse and establish in new locations.

Boccardia proboscidea is recorded for the first time in UK waters. Specimens were discovered at two intertidal sites on the Isle of Skye.

Competition plays an important role in invasion dynamics. According to Elton's biodiversity and invasibility hypothesis, non-native species must be competitively superior to the resident species in order to successfully invade. An invader that is ecologically similar to a native species may cause intense interspecific competition as they both require the same resource. Furthermore, an increase in the density of an invading competitor may enhance the intensity of the competitive interaction, however, this may be reduced if the inferior competitor has a refuge that reduces the amount of time it is in direct contact with the superior competitor. In laboratory-based competition experiments between the non-native caprellid Caprella mutica and two ecologically similar native caprellids Caprella linearis and Pseudoprotella phasma, C. mutica successfully displaced both species from homogeneous artificial habitat patches after 48 hours. Patches that contained a refuge reduced the number of C. linearis being displaced but only when C. mutica was at a low density. Potentially aggressive interactions between C. mutica and the native C. linearis may have caused C. linearis to be displaced from the patches and could have caused significantly higher mortality of C. linearis compared to the controls. This is the first study to show that the non-native C. mutica has the ability to displace ecologically similar native species when the resource space is limited and when the density of C. mutica was significantly (10 times) lower than the density of C. linearis.