Sample Sidebar Module

This is a sample module published to the sidebar_top position, using the -sidebar module class suffix. There is also a sidebar_bottom position below the menu.

Sample Sidebar Module

This is a sample module published to the sidebar_bottom position, using the -sidebar module class suffix. There is also a sidebar_top position below the search.
NZMS Webinar Series Recordings:

NZMS Webinar Series Recordings

Part 1: Evaluation of a qualitative survey for early detection monitoring of New Zealand mud snails

Speaker: Samantha Tank

About Sam: Sam (she/her/hers) is currently a program specialist for the Great Lakes Commission’s Aquatic Invasive Species program. Her role is to coordinate the Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative and Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework. Sam works with land managers across the Great Lakes basin to facilitate effective and efficient Phragmites management. Prior to joining the Commission’s staff, Sam attended Michigan State University where she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fisheries and wildlife. Her master’s work focused on conducting a social and biological evaluation of New Zealand mud snails in Michigan rivers.

Part 2: New Zealand mudsnail monitoring and prevention in the Pacific Northwest

Speaker: Theresa Thom, PhD

About Theresa: As the Regional Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator, Theresa (she/her/hers) currently focuses on aquatic invasive species (AIS)-related activities throughout the Pacific Region, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, parts of Montana, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Fish and Aquatic Conservation (FAC) Program. After earning both a M.S. in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development and a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Georgia, she has worked on water resource issues in both North and South America for more than 20 years. Throughout her career, she has focused on a variety of issues, including AIS, native fisheries, and water quality monitoring in diverse habitats, such as floodplain forests and desert springs.


Part 3: Michigan’s Responses to New Zealand Mud Snails

Speaker: Lucas Nathan, PhD

About Lucas: Dr. Lucas Nathan (he/his) is the aquatic invasive species coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division. His background is in fisheries management with experience conducting research on aquatic invasive species and genetic applications to fisheries conservation. In his current role, he collaborates with partners in the state and across the region to develop and implement the Fisheries Division's state-wide aquatic invasive species program.



Part 4: Eradication of New Zealand mud snails (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) from a State Trout Hatchery

Speaker: David Hammond, PhD

About David: Dr. David Hammond is Vice President of Applications Development for Earth Science Laboratories, Inc. Dr. Hammond has four patents, a half-dozen peer-reviewed publications, and is an environmental chemist who has consulted to private industry on topics including pest management, taste and odor problems, biological wastewater treatment, sustainability, and biomimicry. He holds a Master’s degree from the Energy and Resources Group and a Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry, both from the University of California, Berkeley.

Part 5: The Effects of New Zealand mud snails on Aquatic Communities in a Michigan Trout Stream

Speaker: Jeremy Geist

About Jeremy: The New Zealand muds nail (NZMS) (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) has recently invaded rivers of the Laurentian Great Lakes region where little is known about population growth dynamics and the impacts of NZMS on native communities and ecosystems. Here, we characterize NZMS population growth patterns and effects on resident benthic invertebrate and fish communities in the Au Sable River (Michigan, USA) where NZMS were recently introduced. Quantitative benthic-invertebrate samples were taken seasonally at multiple locations over a four-year period, and fish diets were examined annually. NZMS populations exhibit an intra-annual ‘boom-bust’ pattern where densities peak in the late summer, when localized population densities can exceed 100,000 ind./m2, followed by reductions by as much as 72% during the winter. During summer months, NZMS can numerically dominate invertebrate communities, making up as much as 97% of individuals, and influence composition and relative abundance of native taxa. Differences in native invertebrate community composition among sampling sites are driven by the presence of NZMS. Gut-content analysis of trout revealed increased predation on NZMS with increasing densities. The proportion of NZMS in gut contents range from 0-81% in sampled trout. These and forthcoming results highlight how NZMS can affect native communities and higher consumers in rivers of the Great Lakes region.