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Future Aquatic Invaders of the Northeast: How Climate Change, Human Vectors, and Natural History Could Bring Southern and Western Species North

Wednesday, December 18, 2024 | 4:00 pm
Wesley Daniel
USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Invasive species are one of the greatest threats to U.S. biodiversity, and aquatic invasions have cost the global economy U.S. $345 billion in mitigation efforts, with the most significant percent of costs occurring in North America. Climate change is expected to facilitate the spread of invasive species, and further invasive species range shifts resulting from climate change have been identified as a major concern for natural resources managers. To address this issue, we created realistic future scenarios of freshwater aquatic invasive species established in the southern and western U.S. expanding into northeastern U.S. waterbodies utilizing stakeholders' inputs on priority invasive aquatic species. We utilized habitat suitability models based on life-history traits projected onto future climate conditions in the region and analysis of known pathways of spread, to develop risk scores for the spread and establishment of impactful aquatic invaders into the Northeast.  We assessed 93 freshwater aquatic taxa not established in the northeast study area (45 plants, 32 fishes, and 16 invertebrates) but established in neighboring western and southern regions of the U.S. based on stakeholder input and occurrence records. The forecasted habitat suitability maps and pathway risk analysis are informing risk-based assessments of the streams and lakes of the Northeast for each target species. 

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Registration information for this webinar will be available in the fall.