TRACKS: Six good practices for Non-Indigenous Species research and their SWOT evaluation

ARPHA Preprints, doi: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e160384

Ernesto Azzurro^‡§, Pierluigi Strafella^‡§, Sandro Bertolino^|, Lucilla Carnevali^¶, Fabio Crocetta^#, Cristina Di Muri^¤, Piero Genovesi^«, Andrea Monaco^«, Ilaria Rosati^¤§, Elena Tricarico^», Gianfranco Anfora^˄, Nicola Maria Giuseppe Ardenghi^˅, Emilio Badalamenti^¦§, Fabio Badalamenti^ˀ§, Rosario Balestrieri^ˁ, Umberto Bernardo^₵, Angela Boggero^ℓ, Luca Bolognini^‡§, Rossano Bolpagni^₰, Giuseppe Brundu^₱₳§, Thomas Campagnaro^₴§, Vincenzo Caputo^₣, Sarah Caronni^₮, Francesca Casella^₦, Luca Castriota^₭, Simona Ceschin^₲, Stefania Chiesa^¶, Marco Ciolfi^‽, Francesca Ciutti^₩, Arturo Cocco^₳, Salvatore Coco^˅, Manuela D'Amen^¶‡, Giovanni D'Anna^ˀ, Antonio Di Franco^₸§, Ambrosius Josef Martin Doerr^‡‡, Antonia Concetta Elia^‡‡, Massimo Faccoli^§§, Mattia Falaschi^||, Manuela Falautano^₭, Jasmine Ferrario^˅, Gentile Francesco Ficetola^||, Sandro Flore^₳¶¶, Vincenzo Maximiliano Giacalone^##, Massimo Giorgini^₵, Daniele Grech^¤¤, Emilio Guerrieri^««, Lyudmila Kamburska^§ℓ, Tommaso La Mantia^¦§, Valentina La Morgia^¶, Marco Lauteri^‽, Tamara Lazic^»», Lorenzo Lazzaro^˄˄, Silvia Livi^¶, Massimo Lorenzoni^‡‡, Laura Loru^¶¶, Teresa Maggio^₭, Lara Maistrello^˅˅, Giorgio Mancinelli^§¦¦, Emanuele Mancini^¦¦§, Anna Maria Mannino^ˀˀ§, Agnese Marchini^ˁˁ, Adriano Martinoli^₵₵, Valeria Montalto^ˀ§, Emiliano Mori^ℓℓ§, Luigi Musco^¦¦§, Annamaria Nocita^₰₰, Francesco Nonnis Marzano^₱₱, Francesco Nugnes^₵, Daniele Paganelli^˅, Tommaso Petochi^¶, Antonella Petrocelli^₳₳§, Cataldo Pierri^₴₴, Carlo Pipitone^ˀ, Stefano Piraino^¦¦, Paola Pollegioni^‽, Alessandro Rinaldi^ˀ, Pietro Maria Rontani^₰, Marco Valerio Rossi Stacconi^₣₣, Fernando Rubino^§₳₳, Nico Salmaso^₩§, Raffaele Sasso^₣₣, Davide Scaccini^₮₮, Massimiliano Scalici^₲, Giuseppe Scarcella^‡§, Donatella Serio^₦₦, Lorenzo Tancioni^₭₭, Cristina Tarantino^₲₲, Enea Tentoni^‽‽, Francesco Tiralongo^₩₩, Francesco Tortorici^¶¶₸₸, Pietro Volta^‡‡‡, Bruno Zava^§§§|||, Jacopo Cerri^¶¶¶

‡ National Research Council, Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnologies CNR IRBIM, Largo Fiera Della Pesca 2, 60125, Ancona, Italy§ NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Piazza Marina 61, 90133, Palermo, Italy| Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123, Torino, Italy¶ Institute for Environmental Protection and Research ISPRA, Via Vitaliano Brancati 48, 00144, Roma, Italy# Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn SZN, Villa Comunale, 80121, Napoli, Italy¤ National Research Council, Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems CNR IRET, Campus Ecotekne, Via Lecce-Monteroni, 73100, Lecce, Italy« Institute for Environmental Protection and Research ISPRA, Via Vitaliano Brancati 48, 00144, Rome, Italy» Department of Biology, University of Florence, via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy˄ Centre Agriculture Food Environment C3A, University of Trento, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38098, San Michele all'Adige, Italy˅ Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Sant'Epifanio 14, 27100, Pavia, Italy¦ Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128, Palermo, Italyˀ Institute for the Study of Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in the Marine Environment, National Research Council CNR IAS, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo 4521, 90149, Palermo, Italyˁ Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn SZN CRIMAC, Calabria Marine Centre, C. Torre Spaccata 87071, Amendolara, Italy₵ National Research Council, Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection CNR IPSP, P.le E. Fermi 1, 80055, Portici, Italyℓ National Research Council, Water Research Institute CNR IRSA, Corso Tonolli 50, 28922, Verbania Pallanza, Italy₰ Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17/A, 43124, Parma, Italy₱ University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy₳ Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale Italia 39a, 07100, Sassari, Italy₴ Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry TESAF, Università degli Studi di Padova, Viale dell'Università, 16, Agripolis, 35020, Legnaro, Italy₣ Department of Life and Environmental Sciences at the Università Politecnica delle Marche UNIVPM, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131, Ancona, Italy₮ Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 1, 20126, Milano, Italy₦ National Research Council, Institute of Sciences of Food Production CNR ISPA, Via Giovanni Amendola 122/O, 70126, Bari, Italy₭ Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research ISPRA, Department for the Monitoring and Protection of the Environment and for the Conservation of Biodiversity, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo 4521 (Ex Complesso Roosevelt), 90149, Palermo, Italy₲ Department of Science, University of Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, 00146, Roma, Italy‽ National Research Council, Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems CNR IRET, Viale Guglielmo Marconi 2, 05010, Porano, Italy₩ Technology Transfer Center, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38098, San Michele all’Adige, Italy₸ Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Sicily Marine Centre, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo, 90149, Palermo, Italy‡‡ Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, Via Elce di Sotto 8, 06124, Perugia, Italy§§ Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment DAFNAE, University of Padua, viale dell’Università, 16, 35020, Legnaro (PD), Italy|| Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Via Celoria 10, 20133, Milano, Italy¶¶ National Research Council, Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems CNR IRET, Via Traversa La Crucca 3, 07100, Sassari, Italy## Institute for the Study of Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in the Marine Environment, National Research Council CNR IAS, Via del Mare 3, 91021, Torretta Granitola, Italy¤¤ International Marine Centre IMS, Loc. Sa Mardini, Torregrande, 09170, Oristano, Italy«« Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council, CNR IPSP, Viale Teresa Michel 31, 15121, Alessandria, Italy»» Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Biotecnologie e Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Via Orabona 4, 70125, Torino, Italy˄˄ Department of Biology, University of Florence, via G. La Pira 4, 50121, Florence, Italy˅˅ Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia UniMoRe, Pad. Besta, via G. Amendola 2, 42122, Reggio Emilia, Italy¦¦ Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies DiSTeBA, University of Salento, Via Lecce-Monteroni, 73100, Lecce, Italyˀˀ Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies STeBiCeF, University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 38, 90123, Palermo, Italyˁˁ Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Via Adolfo Ferrata 7, 27100, Pavia, Italy₵₵ Dipartimento di Scienze Teoriche e Applicate dell'Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Via Jean Henry Dunant 3, 21100, Varese, Italyℓℓ National Research Council, Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems CNR IRET, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy₰₰ Museo Storia Naturale, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via La Pira 4, 50121, Firenze, Italy₱₱ Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Viale delle Scienze 11/A, 43125, Parma, Italy₳₳ National Research Council, Water Research Institute CNR IRSA, via Roma 3, 74123, Taranto, Italy₴₴ Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Biotecnologie e Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Via Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy₣₣ Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development ENEA, Lungotevere Thaon di Revel 76, 00196, Roma, Italy₮₮ Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment DAFNAE, University of Padua, viale dell’Università, 16, 35020, Legnaro, Italy₦₦ Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali dell'Università di Catania, Corso Italia 57, 95129, Catania, Italy₭₭ Laboratory of Experimental Ecology and Aquaculture, Department of Biology, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via Cracovia 1, 00133, Roma, Italy₲₲ National Research Council, Institute for Atmospheric Pollution CNR IIA, Group for Earth Observation in Bari, c/o Interateneo Physics Department, Via Amendola 173, 70126, Bari, Italy‽‽ Apa-Ct srl, via sacco 22, 47122, Forlì, Italy₩₩ Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Via Androne, 81, 95124, Catania, Italy₸₸ Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari (DISAFA), University of Torino, largo P. Braccini 2, 10095, Grugliasco, Italy‡‡‡ National Research Council, Water Research Institute CNR IRSA, Corso Tonolli 50, 28922, Verbania, Italy§§§ Wilderness studi ambientali, Via Cruillas 27, 90146, Palermo, Italy||| Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Comiso, Via degli Studi 9m, 97013, Comiso, Italy¶¶¶ Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Stoczek 1, 17-230, Bialowieza, Poland

Corresponding author: Ernesto Azzurro ( eazzurr@gmail.com )

© Ernesto Azzurro, Pierluigi Strafella, Sandro Bertolino, Lucilla Carnevali, Fabio Crocetta, Cristina Di Muri, Piero Genovesi, Andrea Monaco, Ilaria Rosati, Elena Tricarico, Gianfranco Anfora, Nicola Maria Giuseppe Ardenghi, Emilio Badalamenti, Fabio Badalamenti, Rosario Balestrieri, Umberto Bernardo, Angela Boggero, Luca Bolognini, Rossano Bolpagni, Giuseppe Brundu, Thomas Campagnaro, Vincenzo Caputo, Sarah Caronni, Francesca Casella, Luca Castriota, Simona Ceschin, Stefania Chiesa, Marco Ciolfi, Francesca Ciutti, Arturo Cocco, Salvatore Coco, Manuela D'Amen, Giovanni D'Anna, Antonio Di Franco, Ambrosius Josef Martin Doerr, Antonia Concetta Elia, Massimo Faccoli, Mattia Falaschi, Manuela Falautano, Jasmine Ferrario, Gentile Francesco Ficetola, Sandro Flore, Vincenzo Maximiliano Giacalone, Massimo Giorgini, Daniele Grech, Emilio Guerrieri, Lyudmila Kamburska, Tommaso La Mantia, Valentina La Morgia, Marco Lauteri, Tamara Lazic, Lorenzo Lazzaro, Silvia Livi, Massimo Lorenzoni, Laura Loru, Teresa Maggio, Lara Maistrello, Giorgio Mancinelli, Emanuele Mancini, Anna Maria Mannino, Agnese Marchini, Adriano Martinoli, Valeria Montalto, Emiliano Mori, Luigi Musco, Annamaria Nocita, Francesco Nonnis Marzano, Francesco Nugnes, Daniele Paganelli, Tommaso Petochi, Antonella Petrocelli, Cataldo Pierri, Carlo Pipitone, Stefano Piraino, Paola Pollegioni, Alessandro Rinaldi, Pietro Maria Rontani, Marco Valerio Rossi Stacconi, Fernando Rubino, Nico Salmaso, Raffaele Sasso, Davide Scaccini, Massimiliano Scalici, Giuseppe Scarcella, Donatella Serio, Lorenzo Tancioni, Cristina Tarantino, Enea Tentoni, Francesco Tiralongo, Francesco Tortorici, Pietro Volta, Bruno Zava, Jacopo Cerri.

This is an open access preprint distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Azzurro E, Strafella P, Bertolino S, Carnevali L, Crocetta F, Di Muri C, Genovesi P, Monaco A, Rosati I, Tricarico E, Anfora G, Ardenghi NMG, Badalamenti E, Badalamenti F, Balestrieri R, Bernardo U, Boggero A, Bolognini L, Bolpagni R, Brundu G, Campagnaro T, Caputo V, Caronni S, Casella F, Castriota L, Ceschin S, Chiesa S, Ciolfi M, Ciutti F, Cocco A, Coco S, D'Amen M, D'Anna G, Di Franco A, Doerr AJM, Elia AC, Faccoli M, Falaschi M, Falautano M, Ferrario J, Ficetola GF, Flore S, Giacalone VM, Giorgini M, Grech D, Guerrieri E, Kamburska L, La Mantia T, La Morgia V, Lauteri M, Lazic T, Lazzaro L, Livi S, Lorenzoni M, Loru L, Maggio T, Maistrello L, Mancinelli G, Mancini E, Mannino AM, Marchini A, Martinoli A, Montalto V, Mori E, Musco L, Nocita A, Nonnis Marzano F, Nugnes F, Paganelli D, Petochi T, Petrocelli A, Pierri C, Pipitone C, Piraino S, Pollegioni P, Rinaldi A, Rontani PM, Rossi Stacconi MV, Rubino F, Salmaso N, Sasso R, Scaccini D, Scalici M, Scarcella G, Serio D, Tancioni L, Tarantino C, Tentoni E, Tiralongo F, Tortorici F, Volta P, Zava B, Cerri J (2025) TRACKS: Six good practices for Non-Indigenous Species research and their SWOT evaluation. ARPHA Preprints. https://doi.org/10.3897/arphapreprints.e160384

Abstract

Addressing the challenges posed by Non Indigenous Species (NIS) demands coordinated efforts across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. In this study, we used the Italian research network as a case study to identify and evaluate measures designed to enhance NIS research through a structured, interactive, and expert-driven strategy.

The process began with a comprehensive evaluation of ongoing activities, research methodologies, and specific needs. This assessment informed the development of an initial set of proposals, which were collectively discussed and refined, leading to the identification of six good practices identified by the acronym TRACKS and described as: i) Tracking NIS in data collections; ii) Reference protocols for NIS data collection; iii) Active participation through citizen science and local ecological knowledge; iv) Collaboration in data sharing according to the FAIR principles; v) Knowledge Hub as centralized data repository for NIS data; vi) Strategic communication to raise public awareness and support public engagement.

A SWOT framework was then applied to analyze the internal and external factors influencing the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats associated with each practice. Consensus-building techniques were used throughout the evaluation process to ensure the robustness of outcomes. Finally, a quantitative assessment of the SWOT analysis was conducted with 90 NIS experts working in terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems. This approach provided valuable insights into differing perceptions and enabled a clear presentation of six good practices to be consistently applied across NIS research systems.

Keywords

Expert elicitation, Good practices, Invasive species, Structured evaluation, Italy