Citizen science reveals the distribution of the invasive harlequin ladybird ( Harmonia axyridis Pallas) in Argentina
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Citizen science reveals the distribution of the invasive harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis Pallas) in Argentina Victoria Werenkraut . Florencia Baudino . Helen E. Roy
Received: 24 September 2019 / Accepted: 2 July 2020 Ó Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract The harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) was introduced in numerous countries around the world as a biological control agent but nowadays it is considered as a pest itself. It is a highly invasive species that has negative impacts on native biodiversity, may affect some crops, and causes a nuisance to humans. Despite its relevance worldwide, the invasion by H. axyridis in South America has received little attention. Here we used a citizen science approach to study the distribution of H. axyridis in Argentina where the species was intentionally introduced in 1986. We also informally tested and evaluated the preferences for different methods for reporting records: iNaturalist website, Google form, email, WhatsApp, and Facebook. Most records were reported through WhatsApp and iNaturalist. We found that H. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02312-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. V. Werenkraut (&) F. Baudino Laboratorio Ecotono, Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche, Universidad Nacional del Comahue/ INIBIOMA-CONICET, Quintral 1250, 8400 Bariloche, Rio Negro, Argentina e-mail: [email protected] H. E. Roy Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Natural Environment Research Council, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 8BB, UK
axyridis is widely distributed in Argentina but there are large gaps, particularly in arid regions. The invasion seems to be recent in the south of the country. Citizen science is a valuable tool for mapping invasive alien species in a large country like Argentina, and will help to monitor the continuous expansion of H. axyridis. Keywords Alien species Biological invasion Coccinellidae iNaturalist Pampa Patagonia
Introduction Invasive alien species are considered one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss with serious impacts on not only ecology but also economies and human health (Dı´az et al. 2019). Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) is a highly invasive alien species that is widely distributed worldwide (Camacho-Cervantes et al. 2017; Roy et al. 2016). It is native to Asia and has been introduced as a biological control agent in many countries and also accidentally in many others. Nowadays it has established populations in at least 59 countries outside its native range (CamachoCervantes et al. 2017; Roy et al. 2016) and it is found on all continents except Australia and Antarctica. This species has negative impacts on native biodiversity (Brown and Roy 2018; Grez et al. 2016) and it might affect some crops and the wine industry (Ameixa et al.
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