PS 39-89 - Assessing land use, trait, and phylogenetic influences on invasive freshwater fishes in National Ecological Observation Network (NEON) sites

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

5:00 PM – 6:30 PM PDT

Location: ESA Exhibit Hall

Presenting Author(s)

BW

Brigid Wills

Institute for Watershed Studies, Western Washington University, United States

Coauthor(s)

AM

Alicia McGrew

Institute for Watershed Studies, Western Washington University, United States
AS

Angela Strecker

Associate Professor
Institute for Watershed Studies, Western Washington University
Bellingham, Washington, United States
CG

Crysta Gantz

Institute for Watershed Studies, Western Washington University / Department of Environmental Science and Management, Portland State University, United States
SR

Sydne Record

Associate Professor
Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology, University of Maine, Maine, United States
BB

Benjamin Baiser

Associate Professor
Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida
Gainesville, FL, United States
PZ

Phoebe L. Zarnetske

Associate Professor
Department of Integrative Biology; Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program; Institute for Biodiversity, Ecology, Evolution, and Macrosystems, Michigan State University, United States

Abstract: Studying community invasion ecology is integral to understanding how biotic and abiotic factors increase invasion success. Our research focused on freshwater fish communities and ecological interactions across 28 National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) aquatic sites. NEON data provide the opportunity to assess spatial differences between uniformly-sampled field sites across the United States. We analyzed the influence of phylogenetic diversity, functional traits, and land use on invasion response metrics. Invasion response variables included relative abundance of invasive taxa and relative invasive richness. Phylogenetic diversity correlated weakly with invasion metrics. No significant correlations were found between invasion metrics and phylogenetic relatedness. Relative invasive richness was negatively correlated with diversity of fish feeding strategies and fecundity, but was positively correlated with mean fish body size and maturation age. Both invasion metrics were negatively correlated with the proportion of surrounding agricultural and developed land. Our study demonstrates the benefits of continental-scale, coordinated datasets to answer ecological questions, including developing a better understanding of the broad-scale drivers of aquatic invasions.