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R/IS-10
Research and outreach to prevent and control aquatic nuisance species invasions. Understanding patterns and effects of nonindigenous species invasions on multiple spatial scales: A quantitative and comparative approach
Principal Investigator:
Gregory M. RuizStart/End Year:
2000 - 2002Institution:
Smithsonian Environmental Research CenterCo-Principal Investigator:
Jeffrey A. Crooks, Smithsonian Environmental Research CenterTopic(s):
- Aquatic Invasive Species
Description:
The overall goal of the proposed research is to measure quantitatively the pattern and effects of NIS, using identical methods, on various spatial scales. The project is designed explicitly to support information needs of risk assessment (e.g., Hayes 1997; Hayes and Hewitt 1998) and management decisions, providing parallel data on invasions for two continents. Thus, this advances a long-term goal to develop international approaches to a truly global problem. Specific goals are: (1) Measure the number, abundance, and spatial distribution of nonindigenous species in the fouling community within multiple bays. (2) Compare invasion measures among multiple bays, continental margins, and continents. (3) Measure the ecological effects of invading species across multiple bays. (4) Test for consistent effects of habitat characteristics (e.g., salinity), vector importance, and taxonomic group on both the pattern and consequences of NIS invasions among bays. (5) Measure the effect of sampling area, sampling time, and sampling method on NIS detection in multiple bays. (6) Develop a protocol for standardized measurement of invasion patterns and rates in fouling communities.
Funding Start Year
2000
Funding End Year
2002
Related Publications:
Crooks, JA; Chang, AL; Ruiz, GM. 2016. Decoupling the response of an estuarine shrimp to architectural components of habitat structure. PeerJ4:1 -17. doi:10.7717/peerj.2244. UM-SG-RS-2016-06.
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Featured Fellow
Nina Santos
Nina Santos is a Ph.D. student at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. For her dissertation, she is focused on small shrimp-like crustaceans called mysids – an understudied yet important part of many estuarine and coastal food webs.
Featured Research Project
Developing a habitat model for mysids, an important link in Chesapeake Bay food webs
Mysids are important mesozooplankton prey for many species of fish in Chesapeake Bay and are an important link in transferring energy from lower to upper trophic levels. Mysids also serve as biological vectors for benthic-pelagic coupling due to their diel vertical migration and omnivorous prey-switching behavior, which makes mysids important regulators of food web architecture. Despite their central role in coastal food webs, surprisingly little is known about mysid ecology and dynamics in Chesapeake Bay.
