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R/IS-16
Tests of ANS Risk Analysis II: Population dynamics and demographics of US transcoastal invaders
Principal Investigator:
A. Whitman MillerStart/End Year:
2003 - 2007Institution:
Smithsonian Environmental Research CenterCo-Principal Investigator:
Gregory M. Ruiz, Mark E. Torchin, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; James T. Carlton, Williams College, Mystic SeaportTopic(s):
Description:
The primary objective is to test the robustness of key assumptions that underlie current invasive species risk assessments (i.e., demography of native populations predicts demographic behavior of populations in non-native locations). By investigating multiple populations of two marine invaders, Gemma gemma and Rhithropanopeus harrisii in their native and non-native regions, and then comparing these results to those of our current research on the marine invader Littorina saxatilis, we will compile important demographic data that are now lacking. These data can then be used to model population dynamics of the marine invasion process more explicitly than is possible now and will generate important information to enhance biologically based risk assessments.
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Featured Fellow
Leone Yisrael is a cephalopod-loving scuba diver, cook, and loves to try new activities. She conducts genetic analysis and fieldwork at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center through the Coastal Disease Ecology Lab.
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.
