My post-doc focuses on two main topics:

The early detection of aquatic invasive species (AIS)

Each year Michigan State’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) samples lakes throughout the state to assess the status of fish communities and to determine if there are any trends in populations sizes, known as their annual Status and Trends Survey. These DNR surveys have been conducted using traditional sampling gear that may not identify an aquatic invasive fish present in a given lake until after a large population has become established. 

Sampling environmental DNA (eDNA) has become a powerful tool to detect AIS, especially at low abundance. We are currently working with the DNR to sample lakes for eDNA in concert with the annual Status and Trends surveys to help detect AIS at low abundance. Our eDNA metabarcoding approach will also be used to test ecological hypotheses that may predict the invasibility of aquatic invasive species, as well as to study the basis for alpha and beta diversity in inland Michigan lakes. 

Testing alternative hypotheses that may explain how AIS, established in the Great Lakes, have colonized inland lakes and rivers

The Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus), Rusty Crayfish (Orconectes rusticus), and Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) are invasive species established within the Great Lakes. These three species have also begun to colonize inland lakes and rivers in states within the Great Lakes watershed, including Michigan. Potential explanations for these colonization events include 1) natural dispersal up Great Lakes tributaries, 2) movement associated with fisherman, and 3) the bait-bucket industry in Saginaw Bay. We are using a population genomics approach (RAD-seq) to genotype hundreds of individuals from each species to analyze genetic data at thousands of loci. We intend to use these genetic data to test alternative hypotheses in an approximate Bayesian computation framework to determine the most likely mode of colonization for each species.