
Dossier
Exotic species in the Netherlands
Exotic species, also known as alien or introduced species, are animals, plants, fungi or micro-organisms imported through human activity into an area where they do not originally occur, but where they proceed to thrive. Species which were introduced to the Netherlands before the year 1500, such as the rabbit, the pheasant and the mute swan, do not count and are considered indigenous.
Exotic species are sometimes introduced deliberately. An example is the multicoloured Asian ladybird, released in Europe 20 years ago to combat aphids. Pheasants and fallow deer were once released as hunting game. And every year hundreds of turtles and pond perch are released into Dutch watercourses when their owners have had enough of them.
But a lot of species get introduced by accident. Sometimes pets or ornamental animals escape from captivity, as did the Egyptian goose, the Pallas’s squirrel and the Italian crested newt. Marine creatures such as the Chinese mitten crab are brought in with ballast water from ships; the tiger mosquito hitches a ride on tropical plants. And since a canal was dug between the Rhine and Danube 20 years ago, fish species from the Danube watershed, such as the round goby and the money goby, have been able to reach our waters.
There is another category of newcomers that we do not count as exotic: species such as the great egret, whose habitat is shifting as a result of climate change. They are counted in the same category as the lynx, wildcat, wolf and perhaps the golden jackal: animals that settle here of their own accord.
Species monitoring through eDNA
With the help of environmental DNA (eDNA), researchers can demonstrate the presence of animal species, for example based on water samples.
Publications
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Lifestyle behaviour change and cancer-related fatigue among colorectal cancer survivors
Wageningen University. Promotor(en): E. Kampman, co-promotor(en): R.M. Winkels, L.H.H. Winkens - Wageningen: Wageningen University -
Estimating forest litter fuel load by integrating remotely sensed foliage phenology and modeled litter decomposition
Remote Sensing of Environment (2025), Volume: 317 - ISSN 0034-4257 -
Path creation as a discursive process : A study of discussion starters in the field of solar fuels
Social Studies of Science (2025), Volume: 55, Issue: 1 - ISSN 0306-3127 - p. 62-84. -
Doden van eendagshaantjes van legrassen, update stand van zaken
Wageningen: Wageningen Livestock Research (Rapport / Wageningen Livestock Research 1543) -
Data underlying the publication: The effect of sulfadiazine in manure on accumulation of sulfonamide resistance genes in freshly consumable plants
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ALiCE’s adventures in Vaccinialand : Applying a tobacco-based cell-free protein synthesis system for vaccine development
Wageningen University. Promotor(en): G. Smant, co-promotor(en): R.H.P. Wilbers, C. Williams - Wageningen: Wageningen University -
Grazing intensity by sheep affects spatial diversity in botanical composition of Inner Mongolian grassland
Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (2025), Volume: 378 - ISSN 0167-8809 -
A blessing in disguise: advisers’ experiences with promoting climate change mitigation among Norwegian farmers
Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension (2025), Volume: 31, Issue: 1 - ISSN 1389-224X - p. 46-70. -
Chimaera Modelling – when the modellers must reconcile inconsistent elements or purposes
Socio-Environmental Systems Modelling (2025), Volume: 6 - ISSN 2663-3027 -
Extraction of data from Zenodo