Ecological Risk Screening Summary - Banded Cichlid (Heros severus) - Uncertain Risk

There is an established population of Heros severus in Florida. The climate match indicates that there could be risk for further spread from this population into the rest of Florida and large areas in the western sections of the country. There have also been introductions in Nebraska and Nevada. The fish in Nebraska is thought to be a single aquarium release that did not result in a population. There was a small population in Nevada that was thought to be eradicated in the 1960s; however, some databases list collections of the species made in the Lake Mead area after that eradication effort. The history of invasiveness is not documented. Although there have been successful introductions, there were no records of impacts found for those populations. The climate match is high. The certainty of assessment is medium. The overall risk assessment category is uncertain. There is already a population within the United States and no information on impacts.

Species that are considered uncertain risk need a more in-depth assessment beyond the Risk Summary to better define the species’ risk to U.S. environments.

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Uncertain Risk
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Invasive species