Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species - Kyrgyzstan

This annotated checklist is focused on introduced (alien) and invasive species that are known to occur in Kyrgyzstan

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, (IUCN) describes an Introduced/ Alien and Invasive alien species as follows:

An Introduced or Alien species means a species, subspecies, or lower taxon occurring outside of its natural range (past or present) and dispersal potential (i.e. outside the range it occupies naturally or could not occupy without direct or indirect introduction or care by humans) and includes any part, gametes or propagule of such species that might survive and subsequently reproduce.

An Invasive Alien Species is an alien species which becomes established in natural or semi-natural ecosystems or habitat, is an agent of change, and threatens native biological diversity.

In GRIIS, species are recorded as having an impact (as 'yes' under 'isInvasive') if there is evidence of the species negatively impacting biodiversity, and including species that are widespread, spreading rapidly or present in high abundance (Pagad et al. 2018). This usage is relevant to the purpose of GRIIS, and consistent with the concept of impact as formulated by Parker et al. (1999) and now widely used (e.g. Didham et al. 2005, Strayer et al. 2006, McGeoch et al. 2010, 2012, Vila et al. 2011), where impact is a function not only of the per capita effect of an individual organism, but is a combined function of the effect, abundance and range size of a species. Impact can of course be defined in different ways, driven by different objectives, such as its usage in EICAT where it is defined as a measurable change to the properties of an ecosystem caused by an alien taxon (Hawkins et al. 2015).

The geographic focus of this checklist is Kyrgyzstan

The draft checklist is compiled by collating data and information through a comprehensive literature overview. Additional steps implemented to control the quality of the data are described below.

Taxonomic harmonization and normalization using the GBIF taxonomic backboneTo harmonize all species names across countries, species lists are subjected to a normalization process in which taxon rank and taxonomic status are identified and assigned. Spelling and other errors in assigning species authorship are also corrected.

Data validationThe Project Personnel complete a review and validate all the annotations, especially those on provenance and 'invasive' status of the species based on evidence of impact.

Data verificationThe checklist is submitted to a network of country editors for a review of both accuracy of records, annotations, and identification of any significant gaps in the data. Data verification is an iterative process and the activity for a particular version is declared complete on agreement of all relevant country editors (see versioning details below).

One of the key tenets of the GRIIS project has been engagement with country editors in the verification process and as custodians of country checklists. While this has been possible in the majority of countries, for a small number of countries this engagement process has not succeeded in delivering a verified checklist. In these cases, the GRIIS Project Personnel have completed the validation of the species records but continue to work towards identifying country experts.