Marine Invasive Species Risk Assessment Tool for Canadian Ecoregions

CMIST is a peer-reviewed screening-level risk assessment tool for marine invasive species, developed by Drolet et al. in 2016. It is a score-based questionnaire that evaluates the likelihood and impact of invasion, incorporating uncertainty, and has been tested with molluscs, tunicates, crustaceans, and polychaetes in three Canadian marine ecoregions. The tool is designed for an informed assessor to evaluate one species in approximately one day using accessible information.

Use Cases

• Apply the CMIST scoring framework to evaluate invasion risk scores for candidate species in a new marine assessment area.
• Analyze the relationship between uncertainty scores and final risk classifications across different taxonomic groups like molluscs and crustaceans.
• Use the questionnaire's structured format to compare invasion likelihood and impact assessments for species with established invasion histories.

Strengths

• Peer-reviewed methodology published in 2016, ensuring a scientifically validated risk assessment framework.
• Successfully tested with multiple taxonomic groups including molluscs, tunicates, crustaceans, and polychaetes.
• Demonstrated practical application, having been used in 2015 to identify high-risk invaders in three Canadian marine ecoregions.

Limitations

• The specific dataset structure, including row and column counts, is not provided in the input.
• Geographic application appears focused on Canadian marine ecoregions, which may limit direct applicability to other regions without adaptation.
• Relies on assessor judgment and accessible information, which could introduce subjectivity or variability in scoring.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Collection Method

A peer-reviewed questionnaire tool (Drolet et al. 2016) for risk assessment, using information from internet databases, primary literature, and grey literature.

Time Range

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Freshness

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Geography

Tested in three Canadian marine ecoregions; also applied to non-indigenous freshwater fish in British Columbia.