Do native marine predators favor native prey?
Mark Torchin, torchinm@si.edu
Co-mentor name and position
Carmen Schloeder, lab manager
Naos
Biological invasions are a significant force of global change. Introduced species pose a major threat to the world’s biodiversity and can impact food supplies, industry, infrastructure, ecosystem services, and human health. Biological invasions also can serve as natural experiments that provide insight into ecology and evolution. There appears to be significant differences in the extent of invasions across latitudes, continents, and habitats. In marine ecosystems, most invasions are reported near human population centers in coastal bays and estuaries, resulting from ship-mediated species transfers. Relatively few introduced species have been documented in the tropics. It has been hypothesized that tropical regions are more resistant to invasion compared to temperate zones due to biotic resistance due to high native biodiversity. Species interactions such as predation are considered to be important for limiting the distribution and abundance of invaders but, few experimental data exist demonstrating how native predators (such as fishes) might differentially impact native and non-native prey. This project will begin to examine the potential mechanism of biotic resistance to invasion in Panama (Torchin et al 2021). The project will focus on predation experiments in the field and lab experiments on prey choice to decipher whether native predators favor native or non-native prey.
Interns will learn about invasion biology invertebrate zoology, field ecology and experimental design. This project will be both field laboratory based (aquarium experiments at Naos) and will provide experience field and lab methods.
Intern will be responsible for conducting the experiments with guidance from Torchin and Schloeder. The intern will collaborate with us on experimental design and planning but will primarily conduct the experiments independently with oversight. Intern will be expected to work approximately 30-40 hours per week. Results from these experiments could be publishable on their own but will also provide essential background information for planned future experiments.
Torchin, M.E., A. Freestone, L McCann, K Larson, C Schlöder, B.P. Steves, P. Fofonoff, M. Repetto, G.M. Ruiz. (2021). Asymmetrical invasion of two tropical oceans at the Panama Canal. Ecology 102(8):e03434. 10.1002/ecy.3434.
Freestone, A, M.E. Torchin, L. Jurgens, M. Bonfim, D. Lopez, M. Repetto, C. Schlöder, B. Sewall, G. Ruiz. (2021). Stronger predation intensity and impact on prey communities in the tropics. Ecology 102( 8):e03428. 10.1002/ecy.3428.
Jurgens, L., A. Freestone, G.M. Ruiz, M.E. Torchin (2017). Predation during assembly alters resistance to disturbance in a tropical invertebrate community. Ecosphere 8(10):e01986. 10.1002/ecs2.1986
Freestone, A.L, G.M. Ruiz, M.E. Torchin (2013). Stronger biotic resistance in tropics relative to temperate zone: effects of predation on marine invasion dynamics. Ecology 94:1370-1377. ** Highlighted in Nature, February 21, 2013
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