B.15.4. INCORPORATING CLIMATE CHANGE INFORMATION 
Given the potential effects of climate change in Missouri, various goals and objectives, 
and associated actions, may be less successful if climate change is not considered. Specifically, 
prevention and control efforts should consider climate change effects in order to better determine 
ANS threats and appropriate control methods. 
B.15.4.1. Leadership and Coordination 
Goals I and II address leadership, coordination, and communication about ANS issues. 
Climate change should be a consideration in communication on encroaching species and 
potential vectors and on adapting management practices to accommodate changing conditions. 
Objective IB calls for targeting education efforts at specific stakeholders and providing 
information on how ANS could harm resource of interest. Incorporating information on how 
ANS and climate change may interact and affect resources of interest, such as fisheries, could 
lead to a stronger response on the part of the public in regards to prevention efforts. 
B.15.4.2. Prevention 
Task IIA1 recommends continual review and revision of the state’s Approved Aquatic 
Species List to have a baseline for evaluating which species can be safely brought into the state. 
The review should include an evaluation of how climate change affects approved and proposed 
species. Including this step may enable Missouri to maintain an effective prevention program. 
B.15.4.3. Early Detection/Rapid Response, Control, and Management 
Careful consideration should be given to how changing conditions could affect control 
methods when developing and implementing these strategies (Objective VB). Biocontrol 
methods could become less effective under warmer temperatures or biocontrol agents could 
become invasive as conditions change. Climate change may also affect ANS pathways. Warmer 
temperatures may increase recreational use of waterways. This could increase the possibility that 
species such as hydrilla and the New Zealand mud snail would be transported into or within the 
state by boats, or that the rusty crayfish would be introduced through bait releases. 
B. 15.4.4. Research 
Objective IIIB calls for conducting and supporting research on ANS life histories, habitat 
use, potential effects on native species, and how they are transported and introduced into new 
areas. This research should also include an analysis of how climate change may affect each of 
these factors. For example, ANS effects on native species could be exacerbated by warmer 
waters that also damage a native species’ habitat. 
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