Invasive species - American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) in Flanders, Belgium (post 2018)

Dataset type

Deze dataset bevat primaire waarnemingsgegevens voor soorten.

Beschrijving

Invasive species - American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) in Flanders, Belgium (Post 2018) is a species occurrence dataset published by the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). The dataset contains over 24600 occurrences (40 % of which are American bullfrogs) sampled between 2019 until now, in the months April to October. The occurrences were collected through fieldwork and the framework of bullfrog management. Captured bullfrogs were almost always removed from the environment and humanely killed, while the other occurrences are recorded bycatch, which were released upon catch (see bibliography for detailed descriptions of the methods). Therefore, caution is advised when using these data for trend analysis, distribution range calculation, or other. Issues with the dataset can be reported at https://github.com/inbo/sk-analyse We strongly believe an open attitude is essential for tackling the IAS problem (Groom et al. 2015). To allow anyone to use this dataset, we have released the data to the public domain under a Creative Commons Zero waiver http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). We would appreciate it however if you read and follow these norms for data use http://www.inbo.be/en/norms-for-data-use) and provide a link to the original dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/daf62d) whenever possible. If you use these data for a scientific paper, please cite the dataset following the applicable citation norms and/or consider us for co-authorship. We are always interested to know how you have used or visualized the data, or to provide more information, so please contact us via the contact information provided in the metadata, opendata@inbo.be or https://twitter.com/LifeWatchINBO. Data from 2010 to 2018 can be found here: https://doi.org/10.15468/2hqkqn

Geografische beschrijving

Flanders, Belgium. Most of the data originate from the province of Antwerp, as this province currently holds the main stronghold of the American bullfrog population.

Doel

The increasing establishment of invasive alien species (IAS) present many challenges for policy makers, managers and researchers. An adequate response to IAS requires accurate and up-to-date information on their distribution. This information can only be provided if IAS data are available and usable by all. American bullfrog is a high profile IAS. Due to its broad global distribution and widespread effects on native biodiversity through various impact mechanisms, American bullfrog is listed as one of the top 100 most invasive alien species in the world by the IUCN (Lowe et al. 2000). The species is suspected to cause substantial ecological damage around large parts of the globe, exerting an additional pressure to already declining amphibian populations. Negative impacts on native biota entail competition, predation and the transmission of pathogens. Subsequently, in Europe, it is listed on the SEBI worst list of invasive non-native species with high impact on biodiversity, as well as the DAISIE list of the worst invasive aliens in Europe. For the same reasons, the species is included in the appendix to the Bern Convention recommendation n° 77 (1999) as a species which has proved to be a strong threat to biological diversity and for which eradication is strongly recommended. Moreover, the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation (338/97) Appendix B prohibits import of the species into the EU since December 1997. It is listed as a species of EU concern sensu the EU Regulation 1143/2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of IAS.

The data in this dataset are useful for scientific purposes such as distribution modelling, as well as early warning and rapid response protocols, but note that bullfrogs (40% of the occurrences) were almost always removed from the environment during the research and eradication campaign.

Gegevenskwaliteit

Data collection and species identifications were performed by professional scientists or research assistants.

Methoden

Data is collected in the fieldRaw data for Dwc mapping was created: https://github.com/inbo/sk-analyse/tree/main/outputall data was mapped to DwC: https://github.com/inbo/sk-analyse/tree/main/scriptall data was imported in INBO IPT, registered and published to GBIF

Type inhoud

Omvat: Puntvoorkomstengegevens.

Bronvermelding

Devisscher S, Brosens D (2025). Invasive species - American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) in Flanders, Belgium (post 2018). Version 1.93. Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). Occurrence dataset. https://ipt.inbo.be/resource?r=invasive-bullfrog-occurrences2&v=1.93

Rechten

To the extent possible under law, the publisher has waived all rights to these data and has dedicated them to the Public Domain (CC0 1.0). Users may copy, modify, distribute and use the work, including for commercial purposes, without restriction.

Gedigitaliseerde records

Metadata voor het laatst bijgewerkt op 2025-06-23 11:56:16.0