SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Digital Commons @ ESF Dissertations and Theses 2-9-2018 Effects of propagule pressure, environmental factors, and climate change on success and impacts of benthic aquatic invasions Andrew Brainard [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.esf.edu/etds Recommended Citation Brainard, Andrew, "Effects of propagule pressure, environmental factors, and climate change on success and impacts of benthic aquatic invasions" (2018). Dissertations and Theses. 18. https://digitalcommons.esf.edu/etds/18 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ ESF. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ ESF. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. EFFECTS OF PROPAGULE PRESSURE, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, AND CLIMATE CHANGE ON SUCCESS AND IMPACTS OF BENTHIC AQUATIC INVASIONS By Andrew S. Brainard A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Syracuse, New York February 2018 Department of Environmental and Forest Biology Approved by: Kimberly L. Schulz, Major Professor Arthur J. Stipanovic, Examining Committee Neil Ringler, Interim Department Chair S. Scott Shannon, The Graduate School TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................. vi LIST OF APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................... xi Abstract ...................................................................................................................................................xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 2: PRESENCE AND ABUNDANCE OF INVASIVE MACROPHYTES INCREASE ACROSS A RANGE OF PROPAGULE RISK ........................................................................................ 8 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 8 METHODS ......................................................................................................................................... 14 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................................... 23 DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................................................... 36 CHAPTER 3: IMPACTS OF THE CRYPTIC MACROALGAL INVADER, NITELLOPSIS OBTUSA, ON MACROPHYTE COMMUNITIES ................................................................................................. 44 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 44 METHODS ......................................................................................................................................... 48 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................................... 53 DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................................................... 60 CHAPTER 4: SURVIVAL AND BIOENERGETICS OF A NONNATIVE BENTHIC INVERTEBRATE COMPARED TO NATIVES IN ELEVATED TEMPERATURES AND REDUCED DISSOLVED OXYGEN: IMPLICATIONS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE GREAT LAKES .................................................................................................................................................... 63 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 63 METHODS ......................................................................................................................................... 70 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................................... 80 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................................... 107 CHAPTER 5: INTERNAL FLUX OF PHOSPHORUS AND METALS FROM SEDIMENT BY A NONNATIVE OLIGOCHAETE AND NATIVE INVERTEBRATES VARIES AMONG ORGANISMS, TEMPERATURES, AND DISSOLVED OXYGEN CONCENTRATIONS ............. 116 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 116 METHODS ....................................................................................................................................... 121 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................................... 127 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................................... 142 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................... 153 ii LITERATURE CITED ......................................................................................................................... 157 APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................................... 184 Chapter 2 .......................................................................................................................................... 184 Chapter 3 .......................................................................................................................................... 191 Chapter 4 .......................................................................................................................................... 194 RESUME .............................................................................................................................................. 197 iii LIST OF TABLES CHAPTER 2 Table 2-1: Mean biomass (g/m2) and dominance (%) of invasive macrophytes, propagule risk, watershed land use (%), site-scale land use, water quality, and lake morphology variables between Central New York (CNY) and Adirondack (ADK) lakes. Significant differences (Mann- Whitney) are shown in bold……………………………………………………………………...25 Table 2-2: Significance (p-values) of Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients between propagule risk and watershed land use, water quality parameters, and lake morphology for all 20 study lakes. Significant correlations (and associated correlation values in parentheses) shown in bold………………………………………………………………………………………………26 Table 2-3: Linear regressions of invasive biomass (g/m2) and dominance (%) with watershed land use categories, water quality parameters, and lake morphology. Significant regressions (p-values < 0.05) are shown in bold. NS indicates regression was not significant (α = 0.05). Invasive biomass and dominance data were (x+1) or arcsine transformed, respectively, and land use data were arcsine transformed to meet assumption of normality……………………………31 Table 2-4: Multiple regression (forward selection) models for invasive richness, biomass (g/m2) and dominance (%). Propagule risk (total events and distinct sources, no./yr), watershed land uses (residential, urban, agriculture, and barren, %), and water quality parameters (transparency (m), chlorophyll-a (chl-a, g/L), total phosphorus (TP, g/L), conductivity (S/cm), and pH) were explanatory variables put into the regression model……………………………………….35 CHAPTER 3 Table 3-1: Number of quadrats in which Nitellopsis was sampled across deep, intermediate, and shallow locations by lake………………………………………………………………………...59 CHAPTER 4 Table 4-1: Masses (25% quartile, median, and 75% quartile) of each organism, based on organism sizes measured from field samples, used to determine mass-specific consumption and hypoxic growth rates……………………………………………………………………………..78 CHAPTER 5 Table 5-1: Densities of macroinvertebrates used in SNR experiments, and corresponding field densities (number per m2) as reported in the literature for the western basin of Lake Erie. (a) Soster 1984, (b) Soster et al. 2011, (c) Soster and McCall (1990)……………………….…125 Table 5-2: ANOVA results of trace metal concentrations (mg m-2 hr-1), log transformed) by organism. Significantly different (α = 0.05) trace metal concentrations between organisms shown in bold; NS = not significant……………………………………………………………………139 iv Table 5-3: Concentrations of Al, Fe, and Zn (g L-1) measured in sediment release experiment, compared to U.S. EPA acute and chronic aquatic life water quality criteria concentrations (g L-1). Bold values indicate exceedances of acute threshold values, and italicized values indicate exceedances of chronic values………………………………………………………...149 Table 5-4: Experimentally derived internal loading rates (kg m-2 yr-1) of phosphorus at 20°C and 30°C, Zn, and Cr compared to external load estimates………………………………………...151 v