An index of nonnative sea life

The World Register of Introduced Marine Species describes an initial 1457 species within the comprehensive World Register of Marine Species (launched in 2007) that have been spread by humans beyond their historic ranges. To create the list, a team of researchers sponsored by the Flanders Marine Institute in Ostend, Belgium, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Invasive Species Specialist Group spent 2 years compiling databases of invasive species and consulting nearly 2500 scientific papers. Entries note whether the alien species are causing economic losses or—like this red lionfish, a venomous native of the Indian and Pacific oceans now found in the Caribbean Sea—ecological trouble