Use of Landscape Ecology to Analyze the Control of an Invasive,

the Zebra Mussel

Hayley Tumas

usgs.gov

Goals

• Impart knowledge on the severity of the zebra mussel problem

• Use the principles of landscape ecology to examine the population dynamics of zebra mussels in the United States

• Use my results to create methods for eradication and as a baseline for other invasives

Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)

• Freshwater mollusk

• Native to Eurasia

• Range from 1/4in-2 in

• Long-lived

• Active filter feeder

• Female produces 30,000 to 1 million eggs per year beginning at 2 years of age

• Planktotrophic larvae

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Invasive Species • Invaded the Great Lakes

between 1986-1988

• Found in Hudson River and St. Lawrence River by 1991

• Rapid dispersal mainly due to larval characteristics

– Dependent on current or wind advection

– Metapopulation dynamics

• Human-mediated long distance dispersal

1986

1996

2010 nationalatlas.gov

Ecological Threat • Alter food webs

• convert soft benthic habitats to hard substrate

• Bioamplify contaminants

• Outcompete native bivalves, fish, and water fowl

• Attach to any slow-moving or sessile animals

• Substantially decrease dissolved oxygen

MD DNR

nationalatlas.gov www.picable.com

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Economic Costs

• Projected cost of $4 billion in the first decade

• Collapse of sport fisheries and native bivalve industry

• Attach to boats, navigational buoys, and water intake pipes

• Hazardous to recreational beaches

www.fws.gov wikipedia

biology.duke.edu

Motivation

• To date, all research efforts, public outreach, and policy have failed

– Scientists avoid difficult or expensive analyses

– Public does not understand severity of problem

– Many exceptions to current policy

• Need a better method for dealing with invasives

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Objective

• Examine geographic and genetic data on the zebra mussel to determine the population dynamics at a landscape level. Use landscape ecology to help develop methods for eradication

• Specifically focus on the Great Lakes region

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Landscape Ecology

• “study of how spatial pattern affects ecological processes” (With, 2002)

• Recognizes patchiness of habitat spatially and temporally

• Examines a level above communities and ecosystems, below biomes

• Anthropocentric approach

ESA

Graph Theory

Dispersal Distance: 100 M Dispersal Distance: 150 M

Node

Methods 1) Plot the nodes

– Find the geographical points for each existing population in the Great Lakes and surrounding area

– Use ArcGIS to analyze the spatial configuration

2) Determine dispersal relationships between nodes

– Derived from a paternal analysis of larvae though genetic sampling

3) Analyze the population dynamics at the landscape level

– Examine the landscape connectivity and other landscape metrics using ArcGIS and CONEFOR

www.matrixgreen.org

Results I will determine:

• the nodes most important for dispersal and persistence

• the dispersal distance of the populations in the area

• which populations are connected

…which can be used to: • decide on which populations to focus control efforts

on

• pick useful places for dams or other obstructions of flow/dispersal

• choose focus points for policy regulating commercial and recreational boating practices

Broader Impacts

• Control and potential eradication of zebra mussels in the Great Lakes

– Ecological and economic impacts

• Control of zebra mussels in the rest of the United States, Canada, and Europe

• Further current knowledge of invasive species dynamics

• Create an initial set of methods for landscape analysis and control of invasive species

Questions?

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References 1. Johnson, L.E. and J.T. Carlton. 1996. Post-establishment spread in large scale invasions: dispersal

mechanisms of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). Ecology 77:1686-1690. 2. Moody, M.E. and R.N. Mack. 1988. Controlling the spread of plant invasions: the importance of

nascent foci. Journal of Applied Ecology 25: 1009-1021. 3. Strayer, D.L and H.M. Malcom. 2006. Long-term demography of a zebra mussel (Dreissena

polymorpha) population. Freshwater Biology 51: 117-130 4. Stepien C.A., C.D. Taylor, K.A. Dabrowska. 2002. Genetic variability and phylogeographical

patterns of a nonindigenous species invasion: a comparison of exotic vs. native zebra and quagga mussel populations. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 15: 314-328.

5. With, K.A. 2002. The landscape ecology of invasive spread. Conservation Biology 16:1192-1203. 6. Strayer, David L. 2009. Twenty years of zebra mussels: lessons from the mollusk that made

headlines. Ecological Society of America 7: 135-141. 7. Stoeckel, J.A., D.W. Schneider, L.A. Soeken, D. Blodgett, R.E. Sparks. 1997. Larval dynamics of a

riverine metapopulation: implications for zebra mussel recruitment, dispersal, and control in a large river system. Journal of North American Benthological Society 16: 586-601.

8. Griffiths, R.W., D.W. Schloesser, J.H. Leach, W.P. Kovalak. 1991. Distribution and dispersal of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in the Great Lakes region. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 48:1381-1388.

9. Urban, D. and T. Keitt. 2001. Landscape connectivity: a graph-theoretic perspective. Ecology 82:1205-1218

10. Sork, V.L. and P.M. Smouse. 2006. Genetic analysis of landscape connectivity in tree populations. Landscape Ecology 21:821-836.

11. Baguette, M. and H. Van Dyck. 2007. Landscape connectivity and animal behavior: functional grain as a key for determinant dispersal. Landscape Ecology 22:1117-1129.

12. Neel, M. C., K. McGarigal, S.A. Cushman.2004.Behavior of class-level landscape metrics across gradients of class aggregation and area.Landscape Ecology 19:435-455.