Numbers of non-indigenous species-species introduced from elsewhere-are increasing rapidly worldwide, causing both environmental and economic damage. Rigorous quantitative risk-analysis frameworks, however, for invasive species are lacking. We need to evaluate the risks posed by invasive species and quantify the relative merits of different management strategies (e.g. allocation of resources between prevention and control). We present a quantitative bioeconomic modelling framework to analyse risks from nonindigenous species to economic activity and the environment. The model identi es the optimal allocation of resources to prevention versus control, acceptable invasion risks and consequences of invasion to optimal investments (e.g. labour and capital). We apply the model to zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha), and show that society could bene t by spending up to US$324 000 year 21 to prevent invasions into a single lake with a power plant. By contrast, the US Fish and Wildlife Service spent US$825 000 in 2001 to manage all aquatic invaders in all US lakes. Thus, greater investment in prevention is warranted.

Freshwater fauna are particularly sensitive to environmental change and disturbance. Management agencies frequently use fish and amphibian biodiversity as indicators of ecosystem health and a way to prioritize and assess management strategies. Traditional aquatic bioassessment that relies on capture of organisms via nets, traps and electrofishing gear typically has low detection probabilities for rare species and can injure individuals of protected species. Our objective was to determine whether environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling and metabarcoding analysis can be used to accurately measure species diversity in aquatic assemblages with differing structures. We manipulated the density and relative abundance of eight fish and one amphibian species in replicated 206‐L mesocosms. Environmental DNA was filtered from water samples, and six mitochondrial gene fragments were Illumina‐sequenced to measure species diversity in each mesocosm. Metabarcoding detected all nine species in all treatment replicates. Additionally, we found a modest, but positive relationship between species abundance and sequencing read abundance. Our results illustrate the potential for eDNA sampling and metabarcoding approaches to improve quantification of aquatic species diversity in natural environments and point the way towards using eDNA metabarcoding as an index of macrofaunal species abundance.

Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) disturb sediments and fertilize streams with marine-derived nutrients during their annual spawning runs, leading researchers to classify these fish as ecosystem engineers and providers of resource subsidies. While these processes strongly influence the structure and function of salmon streams, the magnitude of salmon influence varies widely across studies. Here, we use meta-analysis to evaluate potential sources of variability among studies in stream ecosystem responses to salmon. Results obtained from 37 publications that collectively included 79 streams revealed positive, but highly inconsistent, overall effects of salmon on dissolved nutrients, sediment biofilm, macroinvertebrates, resident fish, and isotopic enrichment. Variation in these response variables was commonly influenced by salmon biomass, stream discharge, sediment size, and whether studies used artificial carcass treatments or observed a natural spawning run. Dissolved nutrients were positively related to salmon biomass per unit discharge, and the slope of the relationship for natural runs was five to ten times higher than for carcass additions. Mean effects on ammonium and phosphorus were also greater for natural runs than carcass additions, an effect attributable to excretion by live salmon. In contrast, we observed larger positive effects on benthic macroinvertebrates for carcass additions than for natural runs, likely because disturbance by live salmon was absent. Furthermore, benthic macroinvertebrates and biofilm associated with small sediments (<32 mm) displayed a negative response to salmon while those associated with large sediments (>32 mm) showed a positive response. This comprehensive analysis is the first to quantitatively identify environmental and methodological variables that influence the observed effects of salmon. Identifying sources of variation in salmon-stream interactions is a critical step toward understanding why engineering and subsidy effects vary so dramatically over space and time, and toward developing management strategies that will preserve the ecological integrity of salmon streams.

Room-temperature ionic liquids (ILs) are considered to be green chemicals that may replace volatile organic solvents currently used by industry. However, IL effects on aquatic organisms and ecosystems are currently unknown. We studied the acute effects of imidazolium-based ILs on survival of the crustacean Daphnia magna and their chronic effects on number of first-brood neonates, total number of neonates, and average brood size. Lethal concentrations of imidazolium ILs with various anions (X-) ranged from a median lethal concentration (LC50) of 8.03 to 19.91 mg L(-1), whereas salts with a sodium cation (Na+ X-) were more than an order of magnitude higher (NaPF6 LC50, 9,344.81 mg L(-1); NaBF4 LC50, 4765.75 mg L(-1)). Thus, toxicity appeared to be related to the imidazolium cation and not to the various anions (e.g., Cl-, Br-, PF6-, and BF4-). The toxicity of imidazolium-based ILs is comparable to that of chemicals currently used in manufacturing and disinfection processes (e.g., ammonia and phenol), indicating that these green chemicals may be more harmful to aquatic organisms than current volatile organic solvents. We conducted 21-d chronic bioassays of individual D. magna exposed to nonlethal IL concentrations at constant food-resource levels. Daphnia magna produced significantly fewer total neonates, first-brood neonates, and average neonates when exposed to lower concentrations (0.3 mg L(-1)) of imidazolium-based ILs than in the presence of Na-based salts at higher concentrations (400 mg L(-1)). Such reductions in the reproductive output of Daphnia populations could cascade through natural freshwater ecosystems. The present study provides baseline information needed to assess the potential hazard that some ILs may pose should they be released into freshwater ecosystems.

The effects of grazing by the herbivorous caddisfly Helicopsyche borealis on benthic algae and bacteria were experimentally studied in a northern California stream, Big Sulphur Creek. By elevating artificial substrate tiles above the stream bottom, larvae of Helicopsyche, but not other herbivorous insects, were effectively excluded. In three replicate experiments, grazing by Helicopsyche resulted in low amounts of algae (as chlorophyll a, 0.3—1.4 mg/cm2) and bacteria (0.3—0.7 ° 108 cells/cm2) but a high algal turnover rate (O2 evolved per unit chlorophyll a = 34 mg°mg—1 h—1). When larvae were excluded, higher amounts of algae (as chlorophyll a, 8.1—15.1 mg/cm2) and bacteria (1.9—4.8 ° 108 cells/cm2) were present, but the algal turnover rate (O2 evolved per unit chlorophyll a ° 7 μ°μ—1 h—1) was lower. In a second set of field experiments, the effects of periphyton on the density and spatial distribution of grazers were assessed by varying the standing crop of periphyton. Nearest—neighbor analysis indicated that Helicopsyche larvae were aggregated on periphyton with higher standing crop than that which was present as background levels on surrounding substrate. Such larvae became randomly distributed after their grazing reduced the experimentally enhanced periphyton to the background levels. Helicopsyche's grazing resulted in a diatom—dominated algal community with a low standing crop that, because of a high turnover rate, was able to support a high biomass of consumers. This high rate of production probably occurred because competition for light and nutrients was less severe in the grazed than in the ungrazed periphyton.