While exotic plants and animals like rhododendrons and grey squirrels have made themselves noticeably at home in the British Isles, beneath the waves a hidden invasion of non-native species is taking place around our shores. Exploiting activities such as aquaculture, shipping and recreational boating, an army of marine alien species is hitch-hiking around the globe with humans. Now, a group of UK research institutes is looking at ways to detect and halt the spread of marine aliens.

Many marine aliens have left their natural enemies behind and compete with native species with potentially disastrous consequences for aquaculture, tourism and other marine activities. The Marine Aliens consortium is starting work to find out exactly where and how non-native species get a foothold in a new area. The consortium will use this information to look at how invasions can be slowed or preferably prevented, since it is very difficult to eradicate an organism once it has become established in a new area. Increasing public awareness and providing advice on invasive species issues are central to the project and research results will be publicised through new pages which will be added to the Marine Aliens website (www.marlin.ac.uk/marine_aliens).

We can all do our bit for biosecurity; anyone who has a boat or who visits the shore can help by telling scientists what they have seen. MarLIN (the Marine Life Information Network) at the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth runs a marine life recording scheme that helps scientists keep track of the appearance and spread of marine non-native species. Records of marine life should include as a minimum what was seen, and where and when it was seen. Records can be made: online at www.marlin.ac.uk/rml; to the 24-hour recording hotline (01752 255026): by mobile phone message (07806 938789), or by sending digital photographs to marlin@mba.ac.uk

For further information and help with identifying some of the 'least wanted' marine aliens, see www.marlin.ac.uk/marine_aliens

For advice on reducing the transfer of alien species by your boating activities see www.thegreenblue.org.uk/youandyourboat/alienspecies.asp

The Marine Aliens consortium is made up of Bangor University, the Fisheries Research Services, the Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, the Natural History Museum, London, Queen's University Belfast, the Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban and the University of Plymouth.

Notes for Editors

For more information on the Aliens II programme contact Guy Baker at the Marine Biological Association (guba@mba.ac.uk).

Images can be obtained from:
Guy Baker
email: guba@mba.ac.uk
Tel: 01752 633352
Additional information:

The Marine Biological Association (MBA) is a professional body for marine scientists with some 1200 members world-wide. Since 1884 MBA has established itself as a leading marine biological research organisation - contributing to the work of several Nobel Laureates and over 170 Fellows of the Royal Society. For further information, visit www.mba.ac.uk and www.marlin.ac.uk

The MBA is a founder member of the Plymouth Marine Sciences Partnership (PMSP) www.pmsp.org.uk
For information on marine non-natives recording and marine learning opportunities, visit http://www.marlin.ac.uk/learningzone

The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) conducts research and provides education in marine science to improve understanding and stewardship of the marine environment. SAMS employs ca 150 staff at the Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory near Oban, and is a learned society with an international membership. It was formed in 1884 as the 'Scottish Marine Station' by Sir John Murray. SAMS is a collaborative centre of the Natural Environment Research Council and an academic partner of UHI Millennium Institute (the prospective University of the Highlands and Islands). For more details see www.sams.ac.uk

Fisheries Research Services (FRS) provides expert scientific and technical advice on marine and freshwater fisheries, aquaculture and the protection of the aquatic environment.

An agency of the Scottish Government , FRS incorporates the FRS Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen, the FRS Freshwater Laboratory near Pitlochry and outstations throughout Scotland.
See www.frs-scotland.gov.uk

Bangor University is a long established university, founded in 1884, dedicated to academic excellence. Over half of the departments assessed in the teaching quality assessments have received the top rating of 'excellent'. The University has a strong research base across a spectrum of academic disciplines engaging in research at national and international levels. The School of Ocean Science is a leading international research institution, and one of the largest university Marine Science teaching departments in Europe. It has a long-established tradition of excellence in research and teaching in marine science.

The Natural History Museum, London (NHM) is an essential world-class resource underpinning the Biological Sciences, with a unique value in taxonomy and as a biodiversity information resource. It has its own distinctive strengths in research, coupled with a collection of immense scientific value.

The Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) research group in the School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, is based in Belfast and at the Marine Laboratory on Strangford Lough. We focus on in-depth studies of the interactions of organisms within ecosystems, in terrestrial and aquatic habitats. There is also increasing emphasis on reducing the impact of human activity on the environment, particularly through the Quercus Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology (funded by Environment and Heritage Service). The group has strong and multidisciplinary interests in aquatic invasive species, both freshwater and marine. Ongoing research is funded nationally and internationally, including the all-Ireland outreach project www.invasivespeciesireland.com