Native Insects and Invasive Molluscs: Rivals for Domination of the Depths

Facebook Live Event with Dr. David Bruce Conn | Gund Professor of Biology at the Berry College One Health Center | Associate of Invertebrate Zoology at Harvard University Museum of Comparative Zoology |Senior Scientific Advisor on international issues for the U.S. State Department

The St. Lawrence River is among the world’s largest rivers, carrying water from the world’s largest surface freshwater system.  Yet it remains rather little studied biologically relative to many smaller rivers, partly due to its vast size, depth, and the presence of powerful currents, especially in the upper river.  One effective way to study the river’s benthic biota is found in the presence of numerous precisely placed and maintained navigational buoys that are drawn out of the river each winter and stored on shore where they can be examined easily.  We have examined the biota attached to these navaids at various intervals since 1990, so that they now reveal information about the long-term dynamics within the river’s benthic communities over the past 30+ years.  From native keystone species such as filter-feeding caddisflies, to invasive species such as zebra mussels, this talk will explore the ever-changing life in the river’s depths.