BUG has internationally recognised expertise in the ecology and management of invasive fish species, such as the Topmouth Gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva) and Sunbleak (Leucaspius delineatus). BUG Director, Adrian Pinder, was one of the first to highlight the threat of these two species to the native UK fish fauna in a British Wildlife (2003) publication: Sunbleak and Topmouth Gudgeon – two new additions to Britain’s freshwater fishes.

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BUG is at the forefront of protecting European biodiversity from the ecological impacts of non-native fish, conducting on-going research to provide the evidence base for regulations, policy and management programmes. In particular, Topmouth Gudgeon is a high priority on the Environment Agency’s war on destructive invasive fish species.

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Adrian Pinder and Dr Rob Britton have published extensively on the ecology and control of invasive fish species and continue to conduct applied research aimed at informing management and control strategies. This includes:

 

Identification and screening for Topmouth Gudgeon

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Managing non-native fish in the environment

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Quantifying imperfect detection in an invasive pest fish and the implications for conservation management

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Assessing the efficacy and ecology of biocontrol and biomanipulation for managing invasive pest fish