Use sterile individuals in aquaculture systems using non-native species

Overall effectiveness category No evidence found (no assessment)
Number of studies: 0
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not assessed
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not assessed
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Background information and definitions

Non-native species are commonly used worldwide for aquaculture purposes due to their economic value (for instance, the Pacific oyster Magallana gigas is importantly produced in the UK despite not being native). The expanding aquaculture industry has led to the accidental introduction of non-native species into the wild marine environment (Bax et al. 2003; Hewitt et al. 2004; Manchester & Bullock 2000), where they can impact on native subtidal benthic invertebrate species through hybridization (reproduction). This could be potentially avoided by using only sterile individuals of a non-native species in aquaculture (Thresher et al. 2009). However, for this to be a fully effective intervention, advances in polyploidy aquaculture and genetic containment need to occur, given that sterile individuals have been shown to revert over time and that polyploidy can have negative outcomes (e.g. Piferer et al. 2009; Zajicek et al. 2011).

_{Bax N., Williamson A., Aguero M., Gonzalez E. & Geeves W. (2003) Marine invasive alien species: a threat to global biodiversity. Marine Policy, 27, 313–323.}

_{Hewitt C.L., Campbell M.L., Thresher R.E., Martin R.B., Boyd S., Cohen B.F., Currie D.R., Gomon M.F., Keough M.J., Lewis J.A., Lockett M.M., Mays N., McArthur M.A., O’Hara T.D., Poore G.C.B., Ross D.J., Storey M., Watson J.E. & Wilson R.S. (2004) Introduced and cryptogenic species in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia. Marine Biology, 144, 183–202.}

_{Manchester S.J. & Bullock J.M. (2000) The impacts of non‐native species on UK biodiversity and the effectiveness of control. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37, 845–864.}

_{Piferer F., Beaumont A., Falguiere J-C., Flajshans M., Haffray P. & Colombo L. (2009) Polyploidy fish and shellfish: Production, biology, and applications to aquaculture for performance improvement and genetic containment. Aquaculture, 293, 125–156.}

_{Thresher R., Grewe P., Patil J.G., Whyard S., Templeton C.M., Chaimongol A., Hardy C.M., Hinds L.A. & Dunham R. (2009) Development of repressible sterility to prevent the establishment of feral populations of exotic and genetically modified animals. Aquaculture, 290, 104–109.}

_{Zajicek P., Goodwin, A.E., & Weier, T. (2011) Triploid grass carp: Triploid induction, sterility, reversion, and certification. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 31, 614–618.}

Key messages

We found no studies that evaluated the effects of using sterile individuals in aquaculture systems using non-native species on subtidal benthic invertebrate populations.

‘We found no studies’ means that we have not yet found any studies that have directly evaluated this intervention during our systematic journal and report searches. Therefore, we have no evidence to indicate whether or not the intervention has any desirable or harmful effects.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Please cite as:

Lemasson, A.J., Pettit, L.R., Smith, R.K. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Subtidal Benthic Invertebrate Conservation. Pages 635-732 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Subtidal Benthic Invertebrate Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Category
Use native species instead of non-native species in aquaculture systems Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link
Implement quarantine to avoid accidental introduction of disease, non-native or problem species Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link
Source spat and juveniles from areas or hatcheries not infested with diseases or non-native or problematic species Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link