%X The Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) can be used to classify alien taxa according to the magnitude and type of their environmental impacts. The EICAT protocol, classifications
of alien taxa using the protocol (EICAT classification) and the data underpinning classifications (EICAT
data) are increasingly used by scientists and practitioners such as governments, NGOs and civil society
for a variety of purposes. However, the properties of the EICAT protocol and the data it generates are not
suitable for certain uses. Therefore, we present guidelines designed to clarify and facilitate the appropriate
use of EICAT to tackle a broad range of conservation issues related to biological invasions, as well as to
guide research and communication more generally. Here we address common misconceptions and give a
brief overview of some key issues that all EICAT users need to be aware of to take maximal advantage of
this resource. Furthermore, we give examples of the wide variety of ways in which the EICAT protocol,
classifications and data can be and have been utilised and outline common errors and pitfalls to avoid.
%O Copyright Sabrina Kumschick et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY
4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
%I Pensoft Publishers
%L discovery10100687
%J NeoBiota
%K Biological invasions, Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa, management, policy-making,
prioritisation
%P 193-212
%D 2020
%V 62
%A S Kumschick
%A S Bacher
%A S Bertolino
%A T Blackburn
%A T Evans
%A H Roy
%A K Smith
%T Appropriate uses of EICAT protocol, data and classifications