News - Biologists publicize list of animals that threaten Earth's biodiversity

Biologists at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) have presented a list of 66 species of plants and animals that are considered the most serious threats to biodiversity on Earth. The list is published on the PNAS portal, emphasizing the importance of preserving the diversity of living organisms for the stability of ecosystems. The list includes animals that have a significant impact on local ecosystems outside of their natural habitat. One of them is the snakehead predatory fish. Normally inhabiting the freshwaters of the Far East, when it arrived in America, it became a serious threat to local fish, as they were unable to withstand this invasion. Another important species noted in the aforesaid list is the golden mussel, which came from China to Taiwan, Japan, and then to the two American continents. It has had a significant impact on the fauna of these countries and continents. The striped catfish that "moved" from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean are reducing local fish populations. Also on the list is the "rusty crayfish," the orconectes rusticus, which went to Canada from the United States and is highly protected from local predators. The researchers noted as well the sea snail Crepidula onyx, which lived off the Mexican coast of the Pacific Ocean, and the fox squirrel, which moved from its natural habitat in North America. The only plant on this list of the species that are considered the most serious threats to biodiversity on Earth is the green seaweed Codium parvulum, which has spread from the Pacific Ocean to the Red Sea.