Ongoing
Rick Relyea
Invasive species are a major challenge to aquatic ecosystems, yet we often lack assessments of their impacts and the conditions that facilitate their invasion. We are working with several species of invaders including Asian clams, zebra mussels, and banded mystery snails to understand how these species impact food webs and how they compete with native lake species. Moreover, we have examined their performance under a range of ecological conditions including different nutrient concentrations, salt concentrations, calcium concentrations, turbidity, pesticides, and climate change. Finally, we have used niche modeling to predict the habitat use of invaders and how they exclude native species.