Methodologies and special considerations for environmental risk analysis of genetically modified aquatic biocontrol organisms

• Published in: Biological invasions Vol. 16; no. 6; pp. 1257 - 1272
• Main Authors: Dana, Genya V, Cooper, Anne M, Pennington, Kelly M, Sharpe, Leah S
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer-Verlag 01.06.2014; Springer International Publishing; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Aquatic environment; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; Biological control; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Conservation biology; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Developmental Biology; Ecology; ecosystems; Environmental risk; Fish; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Genetic engineering; Introduced species; Invasive fish; invasive species; Life Sciences; Natural environment; Nonnative species; Original Paper; Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking; Plant Sciences; Risk analysis; Risk management; terminology; uncertainty; Environmental risk analysis; Genetic biocontrol; Invasive species management; Genetically modified organisms; Methodology; Biological control; Risk analysis; Aquatic environment; Invasive species; Environment; Genetics; Genetically modified organism; Environmental monitoring; Environmental protection
• ISSN: 1387-3547; 1573-1464
• DOI: 10.1007/s10530-012-0391-x

Genetic biocontrol of invasive aquatic species proposes to introduce, for control purposes, a genetically modified (GM) version of an invasive fish species to a targeted aquatic environment. Safe deployment and long term use of such technologies will depend on identifying and managing possible unintended effects to the natural environment. Environmental risk analysis (ERA) is a method for identifying the likelihood and consequences of unintended impacts, and for developing risk management strategies. For the unique situation of genetically modified biocontrol organisms (GMBOs), we review the latest thinking in ERA methodologies for GM fish and explore how terminology and assumptions from ERAs of traditional, non-modified biocontrol organisms and GM fish will need to be recast in ERAs of GMBOs. We also outline some special considerations that an ERA of a GMBOs will have to contend with: non-intuitive potential hazards; uncertainty introduced by extrapolating from domestic systems to natural ecosystems; redundancy in risk management options; and challenges of stakeholder engagement related to new technologies.