Invasive alien species (IAS) are a significant and growing problem worldwide. In Europe, some aspects of IAS have been\ud addressed through existing legal instruments, but these are far from sufficient to tackle the problem comprehensively. The\ud FINS II Conference considered the relevance of Top 20 IAS issues (Top 10 threats and opportunities) for Europe determined\ud at the 1st Freshwater Invasiveness – Networking for Strategy (FINS I) conference held in Ireland in 2013. Using a similar\ud format of sequential group voting, threats from FINS I (lack of funding, of awareness and education; poor communication)\ud and several new threats (lack of lead agencies, of standardized management and of common approach; insufficient monitoring\ud and management on private property) were identified by 80 academics, applied scientists, policy makers and stakeholders\ud from 14 EU and three non-EU countries (including 10 invited speakers) during four workshop break-out sessions (legislation\ud remit in both EU/non-EU countries; best management and biosecurity practice for control; data management and early warning;\ud pathways of introductions and citizen science). Identified opportunities include improved cooperation and communication,\ud education and leadership to enhance public awareness and stakeholder participation, systems establishment for early detection,\ud rapid response, monitoring and management of IAS using standardised methods of data collection, storage and usage. The\ud sets of threats and opportunities identified underline the importance of international cooperation on IAS issues in\ud communication, education and funding as priorities, as well as in standardization of legislation, control methods and best\ud practise of research

This study investigated the toxicity of polyethylene microplastics (MPs; <0.02 mm) and CuSO4, alone and in combination, on the freshwater crayfish Pontastacus leptodactylus. In this study, the crayfish were exposed to PE-MPs (0.0, 0.5, and 1 mg L^-1) and CuSO4·5H2O (0.0, 0.5, and 1 mg L^-1) for a period of 28 days. Next, multi-biomarkers, including biochemical, immunological, and oxidative stress indicators were analyzed. Results showed that co-exposure to PE-MPs and CuSO4 resulted in increased aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and decreased alkaline phosphatase (ALP), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and gamma-glutamyl-transferase (GGT). Triglycerides, cholesterol, glucose, and albumin content also increased. Although no significant change was observed in lysozyme and phenoloxidase activities in crayfish co-exposed to 0.5 mg L^-1 MPs and 0.5 mg L^-1 CuSO4, their activities were significantly decreased in other experimental groups. Oxidative stress parameters in hepatopancreas indicated increased superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, but decreased catalase (CAT), glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), and cellular total antioxidant (TAC). Results showed that the sub-chronic toxicity of CuSO4 was confirmed. The study confirmed the toxicity of CuSO4 and found that higher concentrations led to more severe effects. Co-exposure to PE-MPs and CuSO4 primarily compromised the endpoints, showing increased toxicity when both pollutants were present in higher concentrations. The activities of POX, LYZ, ALP, GGT, LDH, and CAT were suppressed by both CuSO4 and MPs. However, a synergistic increase was observed in other measured biomarkers in crayfish co-exposed to CuSO4 and MPs.