Understanding the impacts of biological invasions in aquatic ecosystems
December 5, 2022
Dr. Anthony Ricciardi
Non-native species are invading lakes and rivers at increasing rates worldwide. A major research goals is to understand why many invasions have only minor consequences, whereas others have tremendous impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem function. Furthermore, the same invading species can co-exist with native species at some locations and disrupt communities elsewhere, challenging efforts to predict its impact. The problem can be addressed by testing hypotheses that explicitly consider the relationship of the invader to its physical and biological environment. Using this approach, experiments and field studies by our lab have uncovered patterns that explain substantive spatiotemporal variation in impact.
Bio
Dr. Anthony Ricciardi is a Professor of Biology at the Redpath Museum, McGill University, where he and his students conduct research that aims to understand the ecological impacts of invasive aquatic species. He serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology, Biological Invasions, and Neobiota. He is a recipient of the Frank Rigler Award, the highest honour given by the Society of Canadian Aquatic Sciences
