BIO 697 - Invasive Species: Ecology & Management

End of Course...

2004-12-27T16:02:00.000-05:00

I just finished entering your grades on the official UMB website (not sure when they are accessible to you). I will try to email everyone's paper and course grades out tonight.

Thank you to everyone for making this course a great learning experience. I hope that you all found this to be a valuable addition to your graduate coursework. I enjoyed reading your papers and I look forward to submitting them to the state and regional agencies that requested the research.

Tips for your paper

2004-12-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

I am willing to look at an electronic version of your paper to give you general comments, as long as you get it to me within a reasonable period of time before your paper is due.

Tips for Your Presentation

2004-12-06T11:41:00.000-05:00

Because some of you have asked:

1) Should you put citations in your presentation? Please give proper credit for any images and novel statements in your Powerpoint presentation, using a short citation (Forman Orth 2004) or URL if author and year of a website is not clear. Alert students will note that I have stuck to this format during my presentations throughout the semester.

2) What is a "novel statement"? Use your judgement: "The Asian clam is a bivalve native to Asia"...not so novel. "The Asian clam communicates telepathically with its prey"...deserves the (Edward 2001) after it.

3) Does this mean I need to put full references at the end of my presentation? No, there won't be enough time for anyone to write them down anyway. The citations are enough so that someone interested could come up to you later and say "Hey, can you email me the full citation for Edward 2001?"

Reading Assignments for 12/7 - 12/9

2004-12-01T23:43:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, Dec. 7 - Outreach & Species Lists

Effectiveness in Invasive Species Outreach (Reading: "Sea Grant and Invasive Aquatic Plants: A National Outreach Initiative." 2001. Crawford et al. Journal of Aquatic Plant Management, v. 39, pp. 8-11. [.pdf])
A Rainbow of Species Lists...Which Color is Best?

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Thursday, Dec. 9, 8:00am-10:00am - Management Plans & Student Presentations

Guest Speaker: Jay Baker, Coastal Zone Management, Northeast Aquatic Species Nuisance Panel

Reading: pp. 32-53 in "The Massachusetts Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan." Massachusetts Aquatic Nuisance Species Working Group. [Paper copies available in copy room on top of the white cabinet - ask someone in the Bio Office if you need help]

Student Presentations will begin today, note the extended class time!

Reading Assignments for 11/30 - 12/2

2004-11-23T01:38:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, Nov. 30 - BioControl II

A reading and a homework assignment for today's class:

Read: "Developing the options for managing marine pests: specificity trials on the parasitic castrator, Sacculina carcini, against the European crab, Carcinus maenas, and related
species." by R.E. Thresher, M. Werner, J.T. Høeg, I. Svane, H. Glenner, N.E. Murphy, and C. Wittwer. 2000. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. v. 254 pp. 37-51. [on Prometheus]
Homework: Come to class prepared to discuss:
1. What biological controls have been used -or- could be used for your study species?
2. Do you think "parasitic castration" can be an effective biocontrol in a marine environment? In any environment?

Thursday, Dec. 2 - Fire Ecology

Guest speaker: Julie Richburg, University of Massachusetts Amherst

"Effects of Alien Plants on Fire Regimes" by Brooks, M. L., C. M. D’Antonio, D. M. Richardson, J. B. Grace, J. E. Keeley, J. M. DiTomaso, R. J. Hobbs, M. Pellant, and D. Pyke. 2004. Bioscience 54(7) pp. 677-688. [.pdf]

We will also use Thursday's class to finish up our discussion of invasive species controls.

Reading Assignments for 11/23

2004-11-18T11:16:00.000-05:00

We begin our discussion of biological controls this week with a guest lecture from Fred SaintOurs. Fred will be speaking on Tuesday about the use of biocontrols to manage purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). To prepare yourself for Fred's talk, please read the articles below, and be sure to think of some good questions to ask him!

Purple Loosestrife, Ch. 11 in Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the Eastern United States, Van Driesche, R., et al., 2002, USDA Forest Service Publication FHTET-2002-04, 413 p. (If you prefer, you can download this document as a .pdf from this link.)
"Indirect effects of host-specific biological control agents." by D. Pearson and R. Callaway. 2003. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 18(9), pp. 456-461. [via Prometheus]
Short response to Pearson and Callaway article by Thomas et al. (TREE 19(2)) [via Prometheus]

There is no class Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

"No-Risk" Assessment

2004-11-16T14:32:00.000-05:00

Some of you have noticed that the list of mimimum requirements for your species reports includes "Risk Assessment." Originally I was going to have you do a risk assessment for your species in class, but because we ended up working on the pathways risk assessment instead, we will no longer be doing that. If someone's already done one for your species, do report the results, but you are not required to complete your own. Don't forget, though, that you should conclude your report with a discussion of whether your species is a threat to Massachusetts or the water off our coast.

Field Trip still on

2004-11-13T01:12:00.000-05:00

Field trip is still on as of ~~1am~~ 7am Saturday morning...bring your snow shoes (kidding). If anything changes I will post here, or email me.

Reading Assignments for 11/16 - 11/18

2004-11-11T13:00:00.000-05:00

This week you have a smorgasboard of reading choices. Make your choices and email them to me before class on Tuesday.

Tuesday, Nov. 16 - Physical Controls

Choose two of the following:

TNC's Weed Control Methods Handbook: Tools and Techniques for Use in Natural Areas
- Chapter 1 (Manual and Mechanical Techniques) (.pdf)
Plant Management in Florida Waters (Choose ~~either Physical or~~ Mechanical - If you are choosing after 6pm on Monday night, Physical is no longer available! Email me if you have a conflict.)

~~Physical Control~~
Mechanical Control

NIMPIS: Control options - Rapid Response Toolbox

Physical Control (read whole page, click "More Information" for at least three techniques)

CONTROL OF ZEBRA MUSSELS IN RESIDENTIAL WATER SYSTEMS

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Thursday, Nov. 18 - Chemical Controls

Pick one from Group A and one from Group B:

Group A

TNC's Weed Control Methods Handbook: Tools and Techniques for Use in Natural Areas
- Chapter 6 (Herbicide Properties) (.pdf) + One section from Chapter 7 (The Herbicides)
NIMPIS: Control options - Rapid Response Toolbox

Chemical Control (read whole page, click "More Information" for at least three techniques)

Group B

Zebra Mussel Chemical Control Guide (.pdf, read Section 1, then pick 1 chemical each from Sections 2, 3, and 4 [3 chemicals total])

Asian Longhorned Beetle Insecticides + one of the following:

Insect Control: Horticultural Oils (.pdf)
an article from your research project approved in advance by me (article must be specifically about chemical control or have a "meaty" section)

Field Trip!

2004-11-09T01:25:00.000-05:00

Our field trip to check out invasive plants is scheduled for this Saturday, Nov. 13 in Natick, starting at 10:30am. If you need directions, please email me or contact Dr. John Ebersole.

Update 11/11: John says to bring along a lunch. I am not sure how long the trip will last, but we are going to be in a suburban habitat so it will not be difficult for you to find your way back to your car if you need to take off early :-).

Reading Assignments for 11/9

2004-11-05T13:47:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, Nov. 9 is Devil's Advocate Day!

What's so bad about invasive species? Are there benefits to their introductions that we have overlooked? Are we wasting money trying to destroy them?

Come to class prepared to discuss the positive impacts of invasive species (bring your talking points!) and also having read this article:

Williams, C. E. (1997). Potential Valuable Ecological Functions of Nonindigenous Plants. in Assessment and Management of Plant Invasions. J. O. Luken, and Thieret, John W., editors. New York, Springer-Verlag: 26-34. [handed out in class]

(No class on 11/11 because it is Veteran's Day)

Reading Assignments for 11/2 - 11/4

2004-10-29T00:13:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, Nov. 2 - Negative Impacts: Economic

"ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE UNITED STATES" By David Pimentel, Lori Lach, Rodolfo Zuniga, and Doug Morrison. (1999) Link]
Article handed out in class about Economics of Invasions, from the book Invasive Species in a Changing World (extra copies in the Biology Copy Room)

Thursday, Nov. 4 - Negative Impacts: Ecological

Impact and Extinction [.pdf on Prometheus]
Impact of Trout [.pdf on Prometheus]

Reading Assignments for 10/26 - 10/28

2004-10-20T22:37:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, Oct. 26 - The Future of Invasions

"Mail Order, the Internet, and Invasive Aquatic Weeds." By Stratford H. Kay and Steve T. Hoyle. (2001) Journal of Aquatic Plant Management. 39, pp. 88-91. [via Prometheus]
"Bt TRANSGENE REDUCES HERBIVORY AND ENHANCES FECUNDITY IN WILD SUNFLOWERS." By A. A. SNOW, D. PILSON, L. H. RIESEBERG, M. J. PAULSEN, N. PLESKAC, M. R. REAGON,
D. E. WOLF, AND S. M. SELBO. (2003) Ecological Applications. 13(2), pp. 279-286. [via Prometheus]

And, from back in September:
"Hybridization as a stimulus for the evolution of invasiveness in plants?" by Ellstrand and Schierenbeck (2000) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 97(13): 7043-7050 (link)

Thursday, Oct. 28 - Modeling and Predicting Invasions

"Can we predict the effects of alien species? A case-history of the invasion of South Africa by Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck)." By George M. Branch and C. Nina Steffani. (2004) Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 300, pp. 189-215. [via Prometheus]
Chapter 2 of Biological Invasions: Theory and Practice. By Nanako Shigesada and Kohkichi Kawasaki. (1997) Oxford University Press, New York. [handed out in class]

Readings for 10/19-10/21

2004-10-14T12:38:00.000-05:00

Last week we looked at vectors of non-native species introduction from a historical point of view. This week we take a look at the present, with a focus on the species you chose for your semester projects.

Tues 10/19

Each of you has been assigned two readings, based on the type of organism you are studying. That means some of the articles will only be read by one person, others will be read by many. You should be prepared to discuss the key points of your paper, and think about these questions: What are the specific pathways discussed? Are they obvious or obscure? Are they vectors for a few species or many? What are the specific vectors for your study species?
At least one of the articles each of you is reading comes from this book:
Invasive Species - Vectors and Management Strategies, edited by James T. Carlton and Gregory M. Ruiz. Island Press, 2003.
Some of you will also be reading part of this paper, which I posted on Prometheus: "Horticulture as a pathway of invasive plant introductions in the United States." (2001) by Reichard, S.E. and P. White. Bioscience 51: pp. 103-113
Others will be reading portions of this report: "Pathways and Management of Marine Nonindigenous Species in the Shared Waters of British Columbia and Washington" (1997)

Thurs 10/21

Each of you received a copy of the Final Report of the Invasive Species Pathways Team. The ISPT is an offshoot of the national Invasive Species Advisory Council. Anyone can get a copy of the report here, but the margins in this original version make it difficult to print out.
Each of you also chose a main pathway to research for this day's class. You will need to choose a specific subpathway to focus on - expect an email from me about it.

Collect as much information as you can about this subpathway, and we will fill out our risk assessments together in class. Feel free to use web-based resources, but be sure to consider their validity. This will be a graded homework assignment - I will collect your risk assessments and any related sources or source lists at the end of class.

Readings for 10/12-10/14

2004-10-07T01:00:00.000-05:00

Vectors of Invasion - The Early Years

All readings are available through Prometheus this week.

10/12 (Tuesday)

"The Crown's Relationship with Acclimatization Societies" Chapter 8 in Effective Exclusion?, a report prepared by the Waitangi Tribunal. Read pp. 495-512 (8.1 through 8.3.1) and 529-533 (8.8) (This is a large document, you do not need to print the entire thing)
"Weeds" - Chapter 7 in Crosby, A. W. (1986). Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900. New York, Cambridge University Press.

10/14 (Thursday)

"Changes in the Sea." Chapter 5 in Elton, C. S. (1958). The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants. London, Chapman and Hall, Ltd.
Fosberg, F. R. (1958). “Man as a dispersal agent.” The Southwestern Naturalist 3: 1-6.

Reading Assignments for 10/5 - 10/7

2004-09-30T00:15:00.000-05:00

10/5 (Tuesday)

Direct Disturbance and its Effects on Invasion

"Disturbance, Diversity and Invasion: Implications for Conservation." by Richard J. Hobbs and Laura F. Huenneke. (1992) Conservation Biology. 6(3) pp. 324-337. [Available to download from Prometheus system]
"Experimental evidence on the importance of disturbance intensity for invasion of Lantana camara L. in dry rainforest-open forest ecotones in north-eastern NSW, Australia" by J.A. Duggin and C.B. Gentle. (1998) Forest Ecology and Management. 109 pp. 279-292. [Available to download from Prometheus system]

10/7 (Thursday)

Indirect Disturbance and its Effects on Invasion
Our Guest Speaker for today will be Dr. Jeffrey Dukes

Does global change increase the success of biological invaders? by Jeffrey Dukes and Harold Mooney. (1999) Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 14(4) pp. 135-139. (.pdf)
"Impacts of Biological Invasions on Disturbance Regimes." by Michelle C. Mack and Carla M. D'Antonio. (1998) Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 13(5) pp. 195-198. [Available to download from Prometheus system]

Supplementary Info for Kolbe Article

2004-09-29T12:43:00.000-05:00

Not sure why this Nature Article starts out referring to Supplementary figures, instead of putting them in the paper, but I downloaded the extra information, and you can get it by clicking here (Word doc). Figure S1 is missing from the document so we will just have to imagine what it looks like using the figure description :-).

Resources for Invasive Species Literature

2004-09-27T21:56:00.000-05:00

Below are some resources you may find helpful for your research projects. For these or any type of web search, you should perform the search for every common and scientific name used for your study species.

Invasive Species-Specific

The Nature Conservancy's Invasive Species Initiative. Still the first place to go if you are researching a non-native plant, but now also a good resource for information about other non-plant pests as well. Be sure to check their Management Library for species monographs (Note: The Element Stewardship Abstracts in the Management Library are also a good general guide for how your species monograph should look)
The Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants has a huge, searchable database of literature for both aquatic and terrestrial plants.
The InvasiveSpecies.gov website has a page listing other Invasive Species Databases.
The Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database from the USGS is an excellent repository of background information and species records.
Sea Grant's National Aquatic Nuisance Species Clearinghouse is a great repository of sources for aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates.
This searchable database is also from Sea Grant but seems to yield different results...I recommend checking them both.

General Research

Check the list of electronic databases offered by the UMB library. You should at least peruse the following:
- Science Direct
- JStor
- Ingenta
- WorldCat (Specifically, the Dissertations and PapersFirst options available in the pull-down menu!)
Our library offers Interlibrary Loan for books, reports and journals you can't get electronically. Visit the Reference Desk if you need help accessing these valuable resources.
Use the Entrez portal to search GenBank, PubMed, and other databases, the best way to dig up information about any molecular work being done on your study species.

Homework for week of 9/28/04

2004-09-27T10:55:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder, this week you should be prepared to provide information about when your species was introduced (to Massachusetts, or New England, or someplace where that species is considered invasive, whichever is appropriate). Did your species have a lag time? Is it in its lag time now?

You should also be looking into whether any genetic studies have been done on your species or related organisms, and be prepared to mention these studies in class.

Both of these topics should be part of your written report.

Reading Assignments for 9/27-10/1

2004-09-23T13:41:00.000-05:00

The search for a good article on natural invasion was a bust, so we're going to skip over that. The esteemed Dr. Richard V. Kesseli is scheduled to speak briefly to the class on 9/28 population genetics, following our discussion of lag-time curves, then it's on to some great non-plant genetics papers on Thursday:

9/28 (Tuesday)

"Lag times in population explosions of invasive species: causes and implications." (1999) Chapter 7 in Invasive Species and Biodiversity Management, edited by Sandlund et al., Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands. pp. 103-125 [handed out in class]
"Hybridization as a stimulus for the evolution of invasiveness in plants?" by Ellstrand and Schierenbeck (2000) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 97(13): 7043-7050 [.pdf file]

9/30 (Thursday)

"Reduced genetic variation and the success of an invasive species." by TsuTsui et al. (2000) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 97(11): 5948-5953. [.pdf file]
"Genetic variation increases during biological invasion by a Cuban lizard." by Kolbe et al. (2004) Nature. 431: 177-181. [.pdf file]

Homework for week of 9/21/04

2004-09-16T22:10:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder that you should be getting started on your semester project by researching the following question:

What are the biological characteristics of your species that make it invasive?

Keep in mind that you may have to look at related species or at the type of organism you are studying to answer this question. Be prepared to discuss your findings in class.

Reading Assignments for 9/20 - 9/24

2004-09-16T00:06:00.000-05:00

This week we are going to look at the biological characteristics of successful invasive species.

For Tuesday 9/21:

"Invasive species profiling? Exploring the characteristics
of non-native fishes across invasion stages in California." (.pdf file) Marchetti et al. (2004) Freshwater Biology. Vol. 49, pp. 646-661.
Ecological and physiological characteristics of invading species. in Ecology of Biological Invasions. Newsome, A. E. and I. R. Noble (1986). Cambridge, Cambridge University Press: 1-20. [Handed out after class]
Behavioural flexibility and invasion success in birds." (.pdf file) Sol et al. (2002) Animal Behaviour. Vol. 63, pp. 495-502.

For Thursday 9/23:

"Is invasion success explained by the enemy release hypothesis? (.pdf file) Colautti et al. (2004) Ecology Letters. Vol. 7, pp. 721-733.
"Feedback with soil biota contributes to plant rarity and invasiveness in communities." Klironomos, J.N. (2002) Nature. Vol. 417, pp. 67-70.[Available to download from Prometheus system]

From the Classroom to the Website

2004-09-14T14:10:00.000-05:00

Tsering raised a question about today's discussion, so I created a "thread" in the Discussions section of our Prometheus webpage. To read or participate, log in at http://boston.umassonline.net - the course ID is 5690 (email me for the password). Posting is not required, but it certainly won't hurt your participation grade!

Readings in Electronic Format

2004-09-09T12:50:00.000-05:00

Many of the readings for this course will be available online, usually as .pdf files. Because of this, you will need two things:

1) An account for UMass Online (the Prometheus system). The login page is here. The place to register for a new account is here. The official course ID is 5690 (don't ask me why), and the password will be emailed to you.

2) Access to the library. If you do not wish to physically go to the library to access their databases, get a barcode for your UMB id card! You need to physically go to the library to get this. Once you have it, you can log in to many free article databases from off-campus. Sometimes your required readings will come from these databases.