Seminar: Katya Kovalenko

Katya Kovalenko
University of Windsor/ Mississippi State University

"Indirect effects of invasive species and the role of habitat complexity"

This presentation will include results from a series of studies examining population, community and ecosystem responses to invasive species. I will start by describing direct and indirect effects of a non-native peacock bass in Parana River, Brazil, and how these effects may be modified by aquatic vegetation. I will then present results of our long term experiment on four Minnesota lakes, which was designed to examine community effects of another common aquatic invader, Eurasian watermilfoil. I will show how plant, invertebrate and fish communities respond to changes in invasive macrophyte abundance, and how these effects could be mediated by habitat complexity. Our most recent studies examine trophic diversity, food chain length and carbon flows in watermilfoil-invaded lakes. Stable isotope-based metrics indicate that invasive macrophytes can cause significant changes in trophic structure of invaded ecosystems. Finally, I will discuss possible non-linearity in invasive species effects, the importance of habitat complexity, and implications of these findings for monitoring and control of invasive species.

Thursday, December 9, 2010
12:15–1:30 p.m.
Classroom Building B118

Students, staff, and faculty are welcome. Light refreshments will be served.