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Britain is among worst in the world for alien invaders, survey finds
The UK is among the worst countries in the world for invasions of alien animals and plants, a new global study has found.
Grey squirrels, Indian rose-ringed parakeets, and an abundance Himalayan balsam weeds puts Britain in the top 10 per cent of alien-harbouring areas.
Experts have called for tougher import controls amid fears that new invaders could ruin domestic ecosystems.
The survey by Durham University identified islands and mainland coastal countries to be the most likely areas to be colonised by foreign species.
The top three locations with the highest numbers of established alien species were the Hawaiian Islands, New Zealand's North Island, and the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia.
However, Britain also appears near the top of the list, due in part to the country’s historically high volume of trade.
"We need to be much better at trying to prevent the introduction of species that can be harmful in the first place," said Dr Wayne Dawson of Durham University, UK. "Prevention is better than cure with invasive species."
Alien species are plants or animals that are non-native (or alien) to an ecosystem and whose introduction is likely to cause harm.
International researchers studied data on eight groups of plants and animals across 186 island and 423 mainland regions.
A dramatic example of an invasive species that has afflicted North America is the Burmese python, which has made a new home in Florida, the top hotspot among coastal mainland regions.
In New Zealand, around half the North Island's established plant life originated elsewhere.
"While species have been moved around the globe throughout history, more and more species will be introduced as the world becomes ever more connected, and the human population continues to grow,” said Dr Dawson.
In Britain, feral populations of the parakeet found around major urban centres like London, Manchester and Liverpool and are feared to threaten native species.
How the birds established a foothold in Britain is surrounded in myth, with some arguing that Jimmy Hendrix released an "Adam and Eve" couple into the wild from Carnaby Street in the 1960s, to others who say it started with the bombing of London Zoo during the Second World War.