Xenodiversità animale nel bacino idrografico del Po.

The introduction of alien species is one of the major threats to biodiversity. Indeed, some of the introduced species alter the functioning of ecosystems and cause damages to the economy and human health. Inland waters are particularly vulnerable to biological invasions because of several factors, including their links with human activities and the high dispersal ability of aquatic species. After our researches within the European projects DAISIE and IMPASSE, we can today provide a picture, obviously not definitive, of the number of alien species forming self-sustaining populations in the Po River drainage basin. A comparison between this and the other Italian basins for the temporal trend of the introductions and for the principal vectors of alien species clearly shows the association of xenodiversity with human activities (and in particular with aquaculture) and the role of the Po River basin as a “hub” in the traffic of alien species between Italy and the rest of Europe.