title: What do we really know about the impacts of one of the 100 worst invaders in Europe? A reality check.
abstract: Invasive species are one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide, and to successfully manage their introductions is a major challenge for society. Knowledge on the impacts of an invasive species is essential for motivating decision makers and optimally allocating management resources. We use a prominent invasive fish species, the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) to objectively quantify the state of scientific knowledge on its impacts. Focusing on how native fish species are affected by round goby invasions, we analyzed 113 peer-reviewed papers and found that impacts are highly ecosystem and time scale dependent. We discovered round goby impacts to be profound, but surprisingly complex. Even if identical native species were affected, the impacts remained less comparable across ecosystems than expected. Acknowledging the breadth but also limitations in scientific knowledge on round goby impacts would greatly improve scientists' ability to conduct further research and inform management measures.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Sustainable Energy and Water Supply, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. philipp.hirsch@unibas.ch.|Program Man-Society-Environment, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Vesalgasse 1, 4051, Basel, Switzerland. philipp.hirsch@unibas.ch.
authors.forename: Philipp E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Hirsch
authors.affiliation: Program Man-Society-Environment, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Vesalgasse 1, 4051, Basel, Switzerland. anouk.nguyen@unibas.ch.
authors.forename: Anouk
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: N'Guyen
authors.affiliation: Program Man-Society-Environment, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Vesalgasse 1, 4051, Basel, Switzerland. irene.adrian-kalchhauser@unibas.ch.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Adrian-Kalchhauser
authors.affiliation: Program Man-Society-Environment, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Vesalgasse 1, 4051, Basel, Switzerland. patricia.holm@unibas.ch.|Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. patricia.holm@unibas.ch.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Burkhardt-Holm
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D005060:Europe; D005399:Fishes; D058865:Introduced Species
keywords: Invasive species impact; Management; Neogobius melanostomus; Prevention; Round goby