Assessing invasion risks using EICAT-based expert elicitation: application to a conservation translocation

Abstract

Conservation translocations are widely used to recover threatened species, but can pose risks to recipient ecosystems, particularly in the case of conservation introductions. Because of limited data and uncertainty, risk assessments for such projects often rely on extrapolated evidence and expert opinion, further complicating decision making. The Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) serves to classify the realised impacts of invasive species. We developed a protocol combining EICAT and formal expert elicitation to predict these impacts. We applied our protocol to the extinct-in-the-wild sihek (Guam kingfisher; Todiramphus cinnamominus), for which introduction outside the known historical range is being considered. We elicited from multiple experts probability estimates of impact levels across four impact mechanisms and five candidate release sites. We aggregated estimates using simulation-based and Bayesian approaches, with and without accounting for expert confidence. Experts generally agreed that sihek introduction might impact the recipient ecosystem through predation, competition, and disease, although they disagreed about the likely impact levels. Releases to Palmyra Atoll were considered to pose the lowest risk across candidate sites, so this site was selected for further detailed ecological assessments and risk mitigation efforts. EICAT, with its standardized impact mechanisms and definitions, helped reduce the linguistic uncertainty and subjectivity common to expert-based assessments. Expressing judgments as probabilities allowed us to evaluate uncertainty transparently and to assess the weight of expert confidence on the overall risk estimation. Formal quantitative elicitation and aggregation then allowed a transparent evaluation of results, facilitating communication with stakeholders and decision-makers.