National plan for Invasive Species needed - Kilcullen scientist

Dr Jan-Robert Baars with Brian Browne.

The lack of a national plan to deal with invasive species is leaving Ireland open to ever-increasing threats to the country's biodiversity, writes Brian Byrne. That was emphasised last night by Dr Jan-Robert Baars of the School of Biology and Environmental Science in UCD, at a talk in Kilcullen Town Hall for Invasive Species Week.

The event — which is being repeated tonight — was supported by Kildare County Council and included live exhibits and information panels on several invasive species which are currently problematic in Ireland and locally to the upper Liffey. There was also a demonstration on the physical control of Himalayan Balsam, which the Ballymore community has helped to eradicate from several locations along the Liffey in its area.

Dr Baars, who lives in Kilcullen, noted that while certain funding streams have been available for several years for individual invasive species monitoring and control, they are small-scale. "We have a national biodiversity plan that mentions invasives, but we really need a specific national plan to target and deal with them, and integrate it with other conservation plans."

Public awareness also needs to be ramped up. There's general awareness of invasive species such as the grey squirrel, mink, and Japanese knotweed, but there are many others which are already adversely affecting our national ecosystems. Dr Baars believes those in Ireland's waterways are probably the most dangerous. "In both freshwater and marine environments, they are difficult to monitor and control. Unless we're regularly monitoring, we don't pick them up until it's often too late. By the time we actually discover them, they are super-abundant and widespread."

Other things which people need to be aware of include plants for their gardens, as the garden trade can often offer plants which are actually on the invasive species list. Among these are variations of the flowering plant Hydrocharitaceae. "There are 16 species of these in the world which are invasive, and some of these are advertised and sold in Ireland, often misidentified. They are a disaster waiting to happen." Another common purchasable invasive is Lemna minuta, or duckweed. There are issues, too, with the implementation of the EU invasive species regulations here. "If things are on the EU list, they are not allowed to be distributed or sold. Whether that's being enforced here, I think, is questionable."

Pets are another issue, a specific example being the Alpine Newt, which arrived in Ireland through the pet trade. "We need to be careful and know what such pets are likely to do if they get released and out into our environment." The Alpine Newt consumes frogspawn, directly affecting the frog populations in Ireland. It doesn't have a natural predator here and is toxic to anything that tries to consume it. Dr Baars and his team have been conducting pilot eradication efforts at two sites, a bog in the Midlands and in Galway, the first such research in Europe. 

Among several other species discussed at last night's talk was the Quagga mussel colonisation of lakes and rivers, which was described as a 'serious problem' that will, among other effects, result in more and more intense algae blooms. 

A new invasive crustacean, native to eastern Europe and first detected in Ireland last September, has now spread through the Shannon system, probably via boats, and to the canals. "It did trigger a national alert, but there should then have been a national response. If we had a better system in terms of treating boats, we could have reduced the likelihood of the spread. But it just shows that when we have found something has come in, it's almost too late."

Especially in the absence of a national invasive species plan, local authorities play a key role in current efforts of monitoring and control. Kildare County Council has funded work for the last six years to deal with both Himalayan Balsam and American Skunk Cabbage along the Liffey to Celbridge. The effort is arduous and time-consuming, and Dr Baars highlighted the dedication of the Ballymore Eustace community, who put in some 500 hours in 2024 to manually remove Himalayan Balsam, resulting in an 85 per cent reduction of the species in the area. "We have secured further funding, and this year our target is to clear about eight or nine kilometres downstream from Ballymore."

This evening's repeat of the exhibition and talk starts at 6pm.

Leah O'Donoghue who created an illustrated knowledge board during the event.

Kildare CC Biodiversity Officer Méabh Boylan, Damian Bannon, and Maria O'Neill.

Emer Gaj McKeever, Anne-Marie Gaj McKeever and Ethan Bannon.

Quagga mussels.

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