Expanding invasive species impact assessments to the ecosystem level with EEICAT

2026/03/10 by Laís Carneiro, Daniel Pincheira‐Donoso, Boris Leroy +9 · 2 voices
Environmental Science · #Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation #Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies #Ecology and biodiversity studies

paper · doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3003665

openalex created_date 2025/12/11 · openalex publication_date 2026/03/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26

Abstract

The ecological impacts of biological invasions vary widely in type, scale, and severity, highlighting the need for consistent assessment tools. The Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) provides a standardized framework for assessing their effects, but focuses mainly on population-level impacts. We introduce the Extended EICAT (EEICAT), which incorporates impacts across three ecological dimensions, from individuals to ecosystems, with an impact-based approach. EEICAT enables classification of 19 impact types at the invasion-event level, making it suitable for primary research, synthesis, and management. This framework aims to improve the detection, comparison, and communication of complex ecological impacts caused by biological invasions.

Citations

• Impacts and mechanisms of biological invasions in global protected areas
• Benefits do not balance costs of biological invasions
• High and rising economic costs of biological invasions worldwide

Discussions

• In our new @plosbiology.org study, we introduce #EEICAT, an evolution of the #EICAT framework to include communities, ecosystems and abiotic habitat components into biological invasions impact assessm [bsky, 3 points, 1 comments]
• El nuevo modelo, que cuenta con participación de la @ebdonana.bsky.social, permite clasificar hasta 19 tipos diferentes de impacto asociados a un evento concreto de invasión. ➡️ Con ella, se pueden o [bsky, 2 points, 0 comments]

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