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.
Danio rerio is a fish species native to Asian tropical waters in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. The species has been both a very popular aquarium fish and an important biological research model for many years. A significant amount of information and research is available to support these areas of interest. However, far less research has been devoted to the species in its natural setting. For example, determining distribution of the species proves problematic. Several occurrences of D. rerio have been reported around the world with little other information available. Often these reports are provided by individuals outside the scientific community and cannot be verified as established populations. Review of sources addressing introductions within the contiguous United States also provides unclear information regarding established populations. Given these introductions could not be verified as established, they were not included in climate match analysis within the contiguous United States. Overall climate match for the United States was low. No impacts of introduction were reported for this species, but it is unclear if this area has been scientifically assessed. Given all factors, the overall risk assessment for Danio rerio is uncertain.