{"id":131687,"date":"2023-10-06T10:21:18","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T10:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?p=131687"},"modified":"2023-10-06T10:21:18","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T10:21:18","slug":"alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/","title":{"rendered":"&apos;Alien&apos; species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland in next decade"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Revealed: The &#8216;alien&#8217; species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland over the next decade<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Researchers have revealed the species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Raccoons, muntjac deer, and mussels are among the 171 new problem species<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>From highland cows to puffins, Scotland is known for its stunning wildlife.<\/p>\n<p>But a new study has warned that these species could face a new threat over the next decade \u2013 an influx of &#8216;alien&#8217; species.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers from by the UK Centre for Ecology &amp; Hydrology (UKCEH) and NatureScot have revealed the species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland.<\/p>\n<p>Raccoons, muntjac deer, and mussels that clog up water pipes are among the 171 problem species.<\/p>\n<p>Stan Whitaker, NatureScot&#8217;s invasive, non-native species specialist, said: &#8216;Invasive non-native species are a serious threat to Scotland&#8217;s nature, damaging our environment, the economy and our health, and costing Scotland at least \u00a3499 million a year.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/06\/09\/76239655-12601317-image-a-90_1696581314545.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Researchers from by the UK Centre for Ecology &amp; Hydrology (UKCEH) and NatureScot have revealed the species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland. Pictured: a raccoon\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/06\/09\/76239651-12601317-image-a-91_1696581460350.jpg\" height=\"422\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>You may notice that several of these species live in freshwaters.<\/p>\n<h3>The &#8216;alien&#8217; species most likely to wreak havoc on Scotland\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Scotland is already home to more than 1,000 invasive species, including the grey squirrel, Japanese knotweed, and mink.<\/p>\n<p>In their new study, the team set out to predict the &#8216;alien&#8217; species most likely to invade the country next.<\/p>\n<p>In total, the researchers flagged 171 possible new arrivals.<\/p>\n<p>However, they say that 10 species should be prioritised \u2013 pheasant&#8217;s-tail, Asian clam, Zebra mussel, Quagga mussel, Australian flatworm, Southampton flatworm, Brown Kontikia flatworm, Obama flatworm, Floating pennywort, Reeve&#8217;s muntjac, Parrot&#8217;s feather, raccoon, Highbush blueberry and the Crepidula fornicata mollusc (note that flatworms are grouped together as are the two mussels).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You may notice that several of these species live in freshwaters.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Scotland is considered to be particularly vulnerable because river and lake ecosystems already face other pressures such as climate change, overexploitation, sewage, nutrient pollution and recreation activities which can exacerbate the impacts of invasive non-native species,&#8217; the researchers explained.<\/p>\n<p>They highlight the non-native ruffe as an example, which was introduced in Scottish waters as live bait by anglers in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n<p>Its population quickly exploded, resulting in the rapid decline of the powan \u2013 a native species upon which it fed.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/06\/09\/76239653-12601317-image-a-92_1696582315786.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>On land, the list pinpoints muntjac deer (pictured) and raccoons as potential problems.\u00a0Muntjac deer can now be found across southeast England, and could damage trees and shrubs, should they venture further north, the researchers say<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/06\/09\/76239659-12601317-image-a-93_1696582400593.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>You may notice that several (pictured: Asian Clam) of these species live in freshwaters. &#8216;Scotland is considered to be particularly vulnerable because river and lake ecosystems already face other pressures such as climate change, overexploitation, sewage, nutrient pollution and recreation activities which can exacerbate the impacts of invasive non-native species,&#8217; the researchers explained<\/p>\n<h3>READ MORE:\u00a0Teen is left with a blister the size of an ORANGE after accidentally brushing past giant hogweed\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/04\/12\/72703401-12478553-A_teen_was_left_with_a_blister_as_big_as_an_orange_and_strugglin-a-17_1693827283478.jpg\" height=\"209\" width=\"274\"><\/p>\n<p>With the recent promotion of tourism in northern Scotland, the researchers warn there are increased pathways for invasive species to be brought in via vehicles, boats, equipment and clothing.<\/p>\n<p>On land, the list pinpoints muntjac deer and raccoons as potential problems.<\/p>\n<p>Muntjac deer can now be found across southeast England, and could damage trees and shrubs, should they venture further north, the researchers say.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, if raccoons escape from zoos or private collections, they could prey on native species, and spread potentially fatal diseases &#8211; including rabies.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;The threat is increasing with the growth in international trade and travel,&#8217; Mr Whitaker added.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;But we can all do something to help prevent these species from spreading by being plant wise and composting invasive pond plants, like floating pennywort and parrot&#8217;s feather in our gardens, with care\u2014or by reporting sightings of mammals like muntjac deer.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Helen Roy, an ecologist with the UKCEH, agreed that prevention is the best way policy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Everyone can make a difference in preventing the introduction and spread of invasive non-native species,&#8217; she added.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sciencetech\/article-12601317\/The-alien-species-likely-wreak-havoc-Scotland-decade.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Revealed: The &#8216;alien&#8217; species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland over the next decade Researchers have revealed the species&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&amp;apos;Alien&amp;apos; species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland in next decade - bluemull<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&amp;apos;Alien&amp;apos; species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland in next decade - bluemull\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Revealed: The &#8216;alien&#8217; species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland over the next decade Researchers have revealed the species&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"bluemull\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-06T10:21:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/06\/09\/76239655-12601317-image-a-90_1696581314545.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/\",\"name\":\"&apos;Alien&apos; species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland in next decade - bluemull\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-06T10:21:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-06T10:21:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abc9aeefdadf991087d66599cfc40c8d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lifestyle\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/category\/lifestyle\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"&apos;Alien&apos; species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland in next decade\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/\",\"name\":\"bluemull\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abc9aeefdadf991087d66599cfc40c8d\",\"name\":\"mediabest\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51ffec31290e6ad73871db09a74770ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51ffec31290e6ad73871db09a74770ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"mediabest\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"&apos;Alien&apos; species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland in next decade - bluemull","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"&apos;Alien&apos; species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland in next decade - bluemull","og_description":"Revealed: The &#8216;alien&#8217; species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland over the next decade Researchers have revealed the species&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/","og_site_name":"bluemull","article_published_time":"2023-10-06T10:21:18+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/06\/09\/76239655-12601317-image-a-90_1696581314545.jpg"}],"author":"mediabest","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"mediabest","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/","url":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/","name":"&apos;Alien&apos; species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland in next decade - bluemull","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-10-06T10:21:18+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-06T10:21:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abc9aeefdadf991087d66599cfc40c8d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/alien-species-most-likely-to-wreak-havoc-in-scotland-in-next-decade\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lifestyle","item":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/category\/lifestyle\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"&apos;Alien&apos; species most likely to wreak havoc in Scotland in next decade"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/","name":"bluemull","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abc9aeefdadf991087d66599cfc40c8d","name":"mediabest","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51ffec31290e6ad73871db09a74770ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51ffec31290e6ad73871db09a74770ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"mediabest"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131687"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131687"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131688,"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131687\/revisions\/131688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}