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Characterizing the Risk-Release Relationship for Aquatic Invasive Species in the Great Lakes

Timeline 2011 - Present
Project Number 960
Award Amount $ 1,027,000
Team Leader Allegra Cangelosi | Tel: 202-464-4014 | acangelo@nemw.org
Organization Northeast-Midwest Institute
Team Makeup Academic (5), Government (1), Non-Profit (3), Corporation (0), Private (0)
Governors' Priorities Stopping aquatic invasive species
Project Website http://www.greatshipsinitiative.org

This project will develop new scientific methods to estimate the risk of establishment of aquatic invasive species (AIS). The team will determine how the invasion risks vary with the numbers of invasive organisms released into the environment. This work, ultimately, will lead to fewer successful invasions of the Great Lakes. The project responds directly to a key research need identified by the National Academies of Sciences (NAS), and includes many of the members of that panel on the project team.

The team will convene a panel of international experts on invasion biology to provide advice and peer review throughout the project's duration. With the expert panel, the team will detail experimental designs, analytic protocols, and statistical data treatments for two types of assessments: lab assays and field surveys. The lab assays will use large-scale mesocosms (housed at the Great Ships Initiative's land-based Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation Facility in Superior, WI) designed to estimate how many invaders are needed to successfully establish a permanent population. The field surveys will complement the lab work by sampling the biota in the ports following ship discharges. Field surveys will be conducted in the ports of Duluth and Twin Harbors, MN. 

Using the data collected from the field trials, the team will determine the validity of the designs and identify any improvements needed. They will analyze the variability in the sampling and analytic methods; develop models that link the discharge concentrations to establishment in harbors; and develop a database of species present in ship discharges to Great Lakes harbors. Following the first trials and incorporating any revisions into the designs, the team will add a second trial phase to generate additonal data to further validate the designs and characterize the risk-release relationship.

Methods, results and lessons learned will be featured on the Great Ships Initiative website at www.greatshipsinitiative.org as soon as they are available.



 

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