University of Daugavpils

Biological invasions, driven by the spread of non-native species, have become a critical global issue because of their far-reaching ecological and socioeconomic impacts. Effective communication of the risks of biological invasions is essential for implementing robust policy and legislation and gaining public support for conservation efforts. However, current policies often suffer from fragmentation and ineffectiveness, largely due to inadequate risk communication and complex multi-level governance. To address this challenge, we develop a global framework designed to enhance clearer communication about biological invasion risks. The framework contextualizes key terms across three domains in invasion science: species invasiveness, risk analysis, and decision support tools. Using both diffusion-of-English and ecology-of-language paradigms, and following a three-step process involving preliminary consensus, AI querying, and ground-truthing with final consensus, we validate the framework in 70 non-English languages which, together with English, have official status in at least one country and collectively cover all 195 countries worldwide. Our findings reveal that while terminology for risk analysis is well established, terminology for species invasiveness and, especially, for decision support tools remains underdeveloped in many languages, hindering effective communication and policy implementation. Our framework underscores the importance of cultural and political neutrality. By promoting clearer risk communication among scientists, policymakers, and the public globally, we aim to reduce policy fragmentation and foster enhanced collaboration in risk mitigation. We recommend expanding multilingual decision support tools to include the full risk analysis process: risk identification, risk assessment, and risk management. This will support intergovernmental mitigation efforts and promote a unified global response to biological invasions.

A revision of all the species of the genus Thopeutica described or cited from the island of Mindanao (Philippines) is presented. Four species are described as new: T. (s. str.) cassolai sp. nov., T. (s. str.) intermedia sp. nov., T. (s. str.) maindai sp. nov. and Wiesner, 1992 syn. nov., and T. (s. str.) davaoensis Cassola & Ward, 2004 = T. (s. str.) anichtchenkoi Wiesner, 2015 syn. nov. In total, 12 species are confirmed for the fauna of this island; the previous citations of 4 other species from Mindanao are discussed and considered erroneous. A key to the species is provided. Color photographs of the habitus, the main diagnostic characters, and the variability of all species are presented.

Pond network creation can enhance freshwater biodiversity. However, environmental and spatial processes that structure macrophytes, a group central to pond ecology, need to be understood to improve pondscape design. Here, macrophyte communities were surveyed and environmental and spatial data were collected in two networks of man-made permanent ponds in western and northeastern Europe. Macrophyte diversity was high in the pond network in Latvia, and the relative cover of emergent, anchored submerged, anchored floating leaved and free-floating species varied among ponds. Diversity in the network on the French-German border in the former Rhine floodplain was low and consisted mainly of emergent plants and charophytes. The low diversity on the French-German site may result from the presence of the invasive calico crayfish (Faxonius immunis). Environmental variables, including water transparency, pH, chlorophyll-a concentration, as well as shade from surrounding trees and calico crayfish abundance (French-German site only), were correlated with abundances of macrophyte taxa. The variables were also correlated with macrophyte community metrics, including total macrophyte cover, taxonomic distinctness and the relative cover of submerged, emergent and free-floating life forms. Pond surface area and isolation had low contributions to the correlation between environmental variables and macrophyte community metrics. For the Latvian site only, macrophyte community similarity declined with geographic distance between ponds, but more importantly with differences in shade from surrounding trees and water transparency. A design of ponds with diverse environmental conditions and surroundings, as well as groups of ponds providing similar habitats, may be most effective for enhancement of macrophyte diversity at the pondscape scale.

With the continuous aggregation of the global urban population and economic activities, the impact of digital technology on public governance has shifted from the tool level to the cognitive and logical levels. In this context, this study explores the evolution path and performance differences of urban digital twin (UDT) as a highly concentrated governance metaphor in different institutional environments. Objective: This article aims to explain the transnational differences between China and the EU in urban digital twin governance through the analytical perspective embedded in the system. The article examines how different institutional logics shape the allocation of the public sector's dynamic capabilities and explores the resulting trade-off between governance efficiency and legitimacy, particularly to provide strategic guidance for transition economies. Method: This study adopts the "Most Different Systems Design" (MDSD) method to compare and analyse the governance prototypes of China and the European Union. This study combines the institutional logic perspective (ILP) with the dynamic capabilities framework (DCF) to code policy texts and urban cases (for example, "city brain" and "citizen twins") to describe how system logic is transformed into the operational ability of "Sensing, Seizing, and Transforming". Results: This study found a structural "efficiency-legitimacy paradox": (1) The Chinese model, characterised by state-led vertical integration, minimises internal coordination costs and performs well in rapid closed-loop implementation ("output efficiency"), but faces challenges in accountability and diversity of innovative ecosystems. (2) The EU model, driven by rights protection and interoperability (for example, a multi-party information management system), ensures stronger "input legitimacy" and institutional resilience, but due to complex multi-stakeholder negotiations, it faces higher coordination friction and results in a slower diffusion rate. Conclusion: The governance performance of urban digital twin (UDT) depends not only on technical maturity, but also on institutional logic and the adaptability of organisational structure. The study shows that transition economies should avoid simply copying extreme models. On the contrary, they should build a hybrid governance architecture, dynamic balance between development pressure and rights constraints, and maintain a dynamic equilibrium between efficiency and legitimacy through hierarchical governance and interoperability mechanisms.