Researchers at the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center's Western Waters Invasive Species and Disease Research Program work extensively with federal, state, tribal, regional, and local partners to deliver science to improve early detection and prevention of invasive species and disease; understand complex interactions that promote invasive species and disease, and their impacts (and associated uncertainties); develop robust models to predict invasion risk, spread and vulnerability for planning and mitigation; and deliver decision support tools to help stakeholders prevent, prepare, and manage invasive species and disease across the West. NOROCK has extensive experience collaborating with resource managers across diverse ecosystems ranging from arid lands, to mountainous landscapes, to alpine environments throughout the western United States, including Alaska.
Invasive species can include plants (Eurasian watermilfoil), animals (quagga mussel), and emerging infectious diseases (amphibian chytrid fungus). Identifying factors associated with invasion dynamics and risks to aquatic ecosystems and economies is critical for (1) prevention and early detection; (2) developing effective mitigation strategies to suppress, eradicate, or arrest further spread of invasive species and disease; and (3) identifying habitats and populations that are vulnerable to invasive species and disease. This work is particularly urgent as invasive species can rapidly expand their ranges or increase disease transmission under shifting climatic conditions, such as periodic drought, in the western United States.
Land and water managers are often overwhelmed with persistent threats and impacts of invasive species and disease on ecologically, economically, and socially important natural resources. Despite considerable monitoring and advances in awareness and prevention of the spread of invasive species and disease, there remains a lack of direct applications where data and information are integrated in a common framework to better understand the processes and impacts of to inform mitigation actions. Development and validation of tools to effectively prioritize management actions is imperative for managers to quickly and cost-effectively combat the ecological and economic threats of invasive species and disease.
Western Waters Invasive Species and Disease Research Program
NOROCK conducts applied research and monitoring to improve understanding of invasive species and disease risks and impacts on human and natural systems in the West through coordinated and multidisciplinary data collection, synthesis, analysis, predictions and decision-support generated from multi-agency partnerships. NOROCK’s Western Waters Invasive Species and Disease Research Program’s Core Capabilities include:
Data collection and integration
- Monitor invasive species and disease through field-based and molecular (e.g., environmental DNA) data observation and monitoring networks that maximize spatial and temporal coverage
- Develop and advance new invasive monitoring tools and technologies
- Facilitate citizen science for crowdsourced data related to invasive detection
Understanding processes and impacts
- Synthesize large datasets and models to understand invasive drivers, ecosystem responses and interactions with human uses and climatic events, such as extreme drought
- Develop robust models to predict invasion risk and vulnerability for decision making
- Examine and synthesize ecological impacts of invasive species and disease for on-the-ground conservation management
Planning and decision-support
- Predict future invasion risk and vulnerability on species and ecosystems with comprehensive understanding of invasion and disease processes, impacts, and recovery times
- Deliver decision-support guides that link research, monitoring, forecasting and early warning with risk planning and management
- Provide technical assistance to address stakeholders’ needs
- Create and deliver multimedia to communicate with stakeholders, policymakers, and the public
These core capabilities allow NOROCK to assist our management partners in creating information-based frameworks for combating invasive species and disease, and mitigating impacts on livelihoods, ecosystems, and the economy. Prioritizing approaches, populations and landscapes for action will ultimately increase the cost-effectiveness of invasive species and disease management and allow for greater capacity of enhancing ecosystems.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Using Robots in the River: Biosurveillance at USGS streamgages
Evaluating the linkages between regional climate patterns, local climate data, and native Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri) and non-native brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) growth, survival, and life-history expressions.
Forecasting the effects of climate change on the interactions of native and non-native salmonids
Food web and Pyramid Lake fishery evaluation
Evaluating the reintroduction potential and limiting factors associated with anadromous fish reintroductions in the Upper Lewis River, WA
American bullfrog suppression in the Yellowstone River floodplain
Conservation of native salmonids in South-Central Alaska
An investigation of aquatic invasive species in pristine sites in the Greater Yellowstone Area
RARMI: Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) Apex Sites
Translocation of imperiled fishes: Conservation introduction of threatened bull trout in Glacier National Park
Predicting climate change impacts on river ecosystems and salmonids across the Pacific Northwest: Combining vulnerability modeling, landscape genomics, and economic evaluations for conservation
Genetic status and distribution of native westslope cutthroat trout in Glacier National Park
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
- Overview
Researchers at the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center's Western Waters Invasive Species and Disease Research Program work extensively with federal, state, tribal, regional, and local partners to deliver science to improve early detection and prevention of invasive species and disease; understand complex interactions that promote invasive species and disease, and their impacts (and associated uncertainties); develop robust models to predict invasion risk, spread and vulnerability for planning and mitigation; and deliver decision support tools to help stakeholders prevent, prepare, and manage invasive species and disease across the West. NOROCK has extensive experience collaborating with resource managers across diverse ecosystems ranging from arid lands, to mountainous landscapes, to alpine environments throughout the western United States, including Alaska.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Filtering water for eDNA sample collection in Yellowstone National Park between Lewis and Shoshone Lakes.(Public domain.) Invasive species can include plants (Eurasian watermilfoil), animals (quagga mussel), and emerging infectious diseases (amphibian chytrid fungus). Identifying factors associated with invasion dynamics and risks to aquatic ecosystems and economies is critical for (1) prevention and early detection; (2) developing effective mitigation strategies to suppress, eradicate, or arrest further spread of invasive species and disease; and (3) identifying habitats and populations that are vulnerable to invasive species and disease. This work is particularly urgent as invasive species can rapidly expand their ranges or increase disease transmission under shifting climatic conditions, such as periodic drought, in the western United States.
Land and water managers are often overwhelmed with persistent threats and impacts of invasive species and disease on ecologically, economically, and socially important natural resources. Despite considerable monitoring and advances in awareness and prevention of the spread of invasive species and disease, there remains a lack of direct applications where data and information are integrated in a common framework to better understand the processes and impacts of to inform mitigation actions. Development and validation of tools to effectively prioritize management actions is imperative for managers to quickly and cost-effectively combat the ecological and economic threats of invasive species and disease.
Western Waters Invasive Species and Disease Research Program
NOROCK conducts applied research and monitoring to improve understanding of invasive species and disease risks and impacts on human and natural systems in the West through coordinated and multidisciplinary data collection, synthesis, analysis, predictions and decision-support generated from multi-agency partnerships. NOROCK’s Western Waters Invasive Species and Disease Research Program’s Core Capabilities include:
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.An invasive American bullfrog with tracking device. (Public domain.) Data collection and integration
- Monitor invasive species and disease through field-based and molecular (e.g., environmental DNA) data observation and monitoring networks that maximize spatial and temporal coverage
- Develop and advance new invasive monitoring tools and technologies
- Facilitate citizen science for crowdsourced data related to invasive detection
Understanding processes and impacts
- Synthesize large datasets and models to understand invasive drivers, ecosystem responses and interactions with human uses and climatic events, such as extreme drought
- Develop robust models to predict invasion risk and vulnerability for decision making
- Examine and synthesize ecological impacts of invasive species and disease for on-the-ground conservation management
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Capturing juvenile bull trout by electroshocking Logging Creek and then transporting them in a backpack up the trail to Grace Lake.(Public domain.) Planning and decision-support
- Predict future invasion risk and vulnerability on species and ecosystems with comprehensive understanding of invasion and disease processes, impacts, and recovery times
- Deliver decision-support guides that link research, monitoring, forecasting and early warning with risk planning and management
- Provide technical assistance to address stakeholders’ needs
- Create and deliver multimedia to communicate with stakeholders, policymakers, and the public
These core capabilities allow NOROCK to assist our management partners in creating information-based frameworks for combating invasive species and disease, and mitigating impacts on livelihoods, ecosystems, and the economy. Prioritizing approaches, populations and landscapes for action will ultimately increase the cost-effectiveness of invasive species and disease management and allow for greater capacity of enhancing ecosystems.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 13Using Robots in the River: Biosurveillance at USGS streamgages
For more than a decade, researchers around the world have shown that sampling a water body and analyzing for DNA (a method known as eDNA) is an effective method to detect an organism in the water. The challenge is that finding organisms that are not very abundant requires a lot of samples to locate this needle in a haystack. Enter the "lab in a can", the water quality sampling and processing robot...Evaluating the linkages between regional climate patterns, local climate data, and native Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri) and non-native brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) growth, survival, and life-history expressions.
Beyond large-scale climate models, it is becoming increasingly important to quantify how regional climate patterns link with in situ stream temperatures and hydrologic regimes and concomitantly, fish behavior, growth, and survival. Here, we are using comprehensive mark-recapture techniques to evaluate how changing climatic conditions are likely to influence native westslope cutthroat trout and non...Forecasting the effects of climate change on the interactions of native and non-native salmonids
Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns under global climate change are expected to expand the range of suitable habitat for non-natives within stream networks, resulting in significant increases in the distribution and abundance of non-natives. However, our understanding of how landscape attributes can affect local thermal and hydrologic patterns suggests that changes in global climate...Food web and Pyramid Lake fishery evaluation
Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi) is an important cultural and economic resource to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and a Threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Here we are integrating the food web information with field estimates of Lahontan cutthroat vital rate and growth information to guide future management and recovery efforts within Pyramid Lake and the...Evaluating the reintroduction potential and limiting factors associated with anadromous fish reintroductions in the Upper Lewis River, WA
Hydropower facilities on the Lewis River, WA eliminated historic runs of anadromous species to the headwaters of the Lewis River. As anadromous reintroductions are considered and implemented, there remains considerable uncertainty in the viability of reintroductions in reservoir and tributary systems where large populations of non-native species persist and where spawning and rearing habitat may...American bullfrog suppression in the Yellowstone River floodplain
The American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) has recently invaded backwater and side-channel habitats of the Yellowstone River, near Billings, Montana. In other regions, bullfrog invasions have been linked to numerous amphibian declines (e.g., Adams and Pearl 2007). Immediate management actions may be able to suppress or eradicate localized populations of bullfrogs because they are present at low...Conservation of native salmonids in South-Central Alaska
The proliferation of introduced northern pike in Southcentral Alaska is an urgent fishery management concern because pike are voracious predators that prey heavily on juvenile salmonids. Eradication of pike is not possible in connected freshwater networks, so managers must develop control methods that reduce pike populations to less destructive numbers. We are using field and bioenergetics...An investigation of aquatic invasive species in pristine sites in the Greater Yellowstone Area
Aquatic invasive species (AIS) are aquatic organisms that move into ecosystems beyond their natural, historic range and cause severe and irreversible damage to the habitats they invade. Most AIS arrive as a direct result of human activity, such as boating and angling. The threat of AIS introduction is especially high in the Greater Yellowstone Area, as humans from all over the world come to see...RARMI: Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) Apex Sites
In contrast to RARMI study areas in Colorado that have 10 or more years of records of continuous population monitoring, there are fewer long-term datasets for amphibian populations in the northern Rocky Mountains. The exception is an ongoing study of Columbia spotted frogs at Lodge Creek, Yellowstone National Park. Three other long-term research and monitoring areas have been established in the...Translocation of imperiled fishes: Conservation introduction of threatened bull trout in Glacier National Park
There is an urgent need to consider more aggressive and direct interventions for conservation of freshwater fishes threatened by invasive species, habitat loss, and climate change. Conservation introduction - moving species to areas outside their previous range, where conditions are predicted to be more suitable - is one type of translocation strategy that fisheries managers can use to establish...Predicting climate change impacts on river ecosystems and salmonids across the Pacific Northwest: Combining vulnerability modeling, landscape genomics, and economic evaluations for conservation
Salmonids – a group of coldwater adapted fishes of enormous ecological and socio-economic value – historically inhabited a variety of freshwater habitats throughout the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Over the past century, however, populations have dramatically declined due to habitat loss, overharvest, and invasive species. Consequently, many populations are listed as threatened or endangered under the...Genetic status and distribution of native westslope cutthroat trout in Glacier National Park
After 14,000 years of surviving extreme environmental events, such as floods, fires and glaciations, Glacier’s greatest native trout is at high risk of disappearing from several streams and lakes east and west of the Continental Divide. The decline of westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi; WCT) in Glacier National Park (GNP) has been attributed to the establishment of nonnative... - Multimedia
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
- Publications
- News