JASM 2014 Special Session We are excited to invite interested researchers to submit an abstract to our special session devoted to interactions between non-native plants and native animals at the upcoming Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting (May 18-23, Portland, Oregon). We plan to bring together scientists working on this topic in submerged, wetland, and riparian systems from a broad range of aquatic environments including lakes, streams, and coastal estuaries. We hope to identify common traits or functional characteristics of non-native vegetation that affect aquatic and wetland fauna. All are welcome!
Please find our session description below, as well as a link to the conference website. Abstracts must be submitted by 23:59 U.S. Central Standard Time on Friday, 7 February 2014. Don't hesitate to contact us with any questions. Hope to see you in Portland! Best wishes, Matthew Kornis, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center korn...@si.edu Eric Hazelton, Utah State University, Ecology Center; Smithsonian Environmental Research Center e...@hazelton-ecological.com Denise Breitburg, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center breitbu...@si.edu Dennis Whigham, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center whigh...@si.edu Submission Link - http://www.sgmeet.com/jasm2014/ Session Description: 036 - Interactions between non-native flora and native fauna in submerged, wetland, and riparian systems The introduction and rapid spread of non-native plant species is a key contributor to global environmental change. Introduced plants in submerged, wetland, and riparian zones can affect aquatic and estuarine ecosystems by altering habitat structure, nutrient cycling, hydrology, and food availability, among other things. These modifications may have notable repercussions for communities of aquatic and wetland fauna both within and across trophic levels. In this session, we seek to synthesize research on interactions between non-native plants and native animals from a broad range of aquatic environments, including lakes, streams, and coastal estuaries. The emphasis will be on organismal (growth rates, development, fecundity, etc.) and community (species interactions, abundance, distribution, etc.) level effects for both non-native plants and native fauna. We hope to produce a perspectives paper elucidating specific traits or functional characteristics of non-native vegetation that affect aquatic and wetland fauna, with a focus on measurable characteristics that may be predictive across environments.
