GuardIAS – Guarding European Waters from Invasive Alien Species

Abstract

GuardIAS is a three-year Horizon Europe project starting in January 2025, uniting diverse expertise to address aquatic invasive alien species (IAS) management. This multidisciplinary initiative comprises seven interconnected work packages targeting all invasion stages (pre-border, border, post-border) to develop tools for disrupting invasions. GuardIAS will employ Artificial Intelligence and data workflows to enhance biodiversity databases with species distributions, environmental tolerances, traits, and genetic information, thereby improving the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN) and harmonizing key datasets. The citizen science platform iNaturalist will be enriched with expert-verified images of aquatic IAS for early detection and monitoring of geographic spread. An Early Warning System focused on IAS of EU concern will be developed and integrated into EASIN. To prevent hull biofouling—a major IAS introduction pathway—GuardIAS will explore nanotechnology-based antifouling coatings. The project will also investigate recreational boat movements along European coastlines, an understudied factor in IAS secondary dispersal. An eDNA reference library and assay panel will be developed for effective IAS detection. Advanced models, such as the Nobel Prize winning Multi-Region Input-Output analysis, will assess IAS risks, including impacts on threatened species and critical habitats under current and future scenarios. Systematic conservation planning tools will prioritize IAS monitoring and management actions based on their impacts. GuardIAS will enhance data collection, monitoring, early detection, and public awareness through innovative citizen science initiatives like BioArtBlitz events — where arts serve as a communication vehicle — eDNA sampling, sound analysis projects on Zooniverse, and marina events for boaters. Stakeholder engagement will be fostered through applied games. Collaborating with environmental authorities, industry, and aquatic managers, the project will co-design and implement eradication and control efforts in marine and freshwater environments. By integrating Social Sciences and Humanities, GuardIAS will promote collaborative knowledge creation, understand public perceptions on IAS management, and facilitate exploitation of the project’s outcomes.