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Home > Research by Programs > AIS
Aquatic Invasive Species
Task Leader: David Reid
Highlights
20 Years of Zebra & Quagga Mussel Research (.pdf)
Novirhabdovirus sp - Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) Factsheet
Great Lakes Food Web Diagrams
GLERL has recently developed food web diagrams for all of the Great Lakes and
Lake St. Clair. The major species in each lake are briefly described, along
with a diagram summarizing the ecosystem energy flow (who eats or is eaten by
whom!). These diagrams are based on a model from a paper published in 2003
supported by both NOAA and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Summarizing the
model results in diagram form was accomplished by GLERL’s Sea Grant Extension
Educator. They were updated and modified for each lake by a host of researchers.
Current Featured Projects
Coastwise ANS: Aassessment
of Coastwise Traffic Patterns and Management of Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Risk on NOBOBs
and Coastwise Vessels of the Great Lakes and East Coast of the United States and Canada
This project will produce a predictive model based on the environmental tolerances, abundance,
and life history characteristics of species and environmental characteristics of key Atlantic
and Great Lakes ballast-related ports. It will discriminate between those species that have
been successful versus unsuccessful at spreading among low salinity habitats along the eastern
US and the Great Lakes Region. If successful, it will provide an additional tool towards
reduction of risk of new species introductions, thus serving to enhance the protection and
integrity of the Great Lakes ecosystem.
Effects of Non-indigenous Invertebrates
on the Pelagic Food Web of Lake Michigan
The pelagic food web is experiencing rapid changes because
of ever increasing abundances of quagga mussels in Lake Michigan.
Quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) were first found
in Lake Michigan in 1997 (Nalepa et al. 2001) and by 2006 had
become abundant in offshore areas of the lake. These mussels
have replaced zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha)
in shallow areas, and are rapidly proliferating in colder, deeper
areas where zebra mussels were not previously found. By understanding
how invasive species such as quagga mussels may have altered
the offshore pelagic food and trophic linkages, we will
be able to better predict the ability of systems with quagga
mussels to produce healthy and sustainable fishery stocks.
Mapping the Condition of
Diporeia: Insights into Mechanisms of Declines
The ramifications of the Diporeia decline in Lake Michigan have been far reaching,
affecting a series of ecologically and economically important fish and fisheries. Understanding
the mechanistic causes of this decline is necessary before any potential management actions can
be put forth. A large scale field survey in conjunction with lab work to characterize metabolite
profiles should contribute towards improving such mechanistic understanding and hopefully
facilitate future hindcasting/forecasting.
Complete Listing of GLERL Aquatic Invasive Species Program Projects
Data products
Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System Database
Complete Listing of GLERL Data Products
Selected Software products
EcoNetwrk software
A Windows-compatible tool to analyze ecological flow networks; available for download.
*Link leads off GLERL's website
Program Background
The Great Lakes basin is the aquatic gateway to the heartland of America and a national hot spot for aquatic invasive species (AIS) introductions that can reach other sections of the U.S. Records of aquatic species invasions in the Great Lakes start in the early 1800s. By 2005 at least 182 AIS have been reported in the Great Lakes, with more than 40% discovered since 1960. The rate of discovery since 1960 has not been linear, but for illustrative purposes, can be said to average about one new invader every 28 weeks. Nonindigenous species are now a significant component of most trophic levels in the Great Lakes.
GLERL's research on invasive species targets two key issues: 1) The prevention of new invasive species introductions and 2) The understanding of the biological and ecological impacts of nonindigenous species in the Great Lakes.
Recent Publications
Fahnenstiel, G.L., Y. Hong, D.F. Millie, M. Doblin, T.F. Johengen, and D.F. Reid. Marine dinoflagellate cysts in the ballast tank sediments of ships entering the Laurentian Great Lakes. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 30(7):1035-1038 (2009). (.pdf)
Nalepa, T.F., D.L. Fanslow, G.A. Lang, D.B. Lamarand, L.G. Cummins, and G.S. Carter. Abundances of the amphipod Diporeia spp. and the mussels Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena rostriformis bugensis in Lake Michigan in 1994-1995, 2000, and 2005. NOAA Technical Memorandum GLERL-144. NOAA, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Ann Arbor, MI, 25 pp. (2008). (.pdf)
Pichlová-Ptácníková, R., and H.A. Vanderploeg. The invasive cladoceran Cerocopagis pengoi is a generalist predator capable of feeding on a variety of prey species of different sizes and escape abilities. Fundamental and Applied Limnology 173(4):267-279 (2009).
Pothoven, S.A., H.A. Vanderploeg, S.A. Ludsin, T.O. Hook, and S.B. Brandt. Feeding ecology of emerald shiners and rainbow smelt in Lake Erie. Journal of Great Lakes Research 35:190-198 (2009). (.pdf)
Reid, D.F. Ballast water and saltwater flushing: Closing a gap in the protection framework for the Great Lakes. ANS Update 14(1):2 pp. (2008). (.pdf)
Vanderploeg, H.A., T.H. Johengen, and J.R. Liebig. Feedback between zebra mussel selective feeding and algal composition affects mussel condition: did the regime changer pay a price for its success? Freshwater Biology 54:47-63 (2009).
Select Brochures
Aquatic Invasive Species and the Great Lakes: Simple Questions, Complex Answers (.pdf)
Ballast water and aquatic nuisance species introductions in the Great Lakes (.pdf)