Student Scholars & Faculty Mentors
Projects funded by our internal grants program. Search the table to find students or faculty mentors that share in your interests, and could help you achieve your goals in research, creative activity, or service.
Quantifying the Impacts of Invasive Species on Imperiled U.S. Taxa
Name: Ritter,
Advisor: Aaron Haines
Department: BIOL
Award: Student Research Grant
Abstract: The detrimental effects of invasive species is one of the leading threats causing native species to require federal protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the United States (US). The goal of this project is to identify the top invasive species that threaten animal species protected under the ESA, how invasive species negatively impact protected animals, how these impacts vary by animal taxa and where are these invasive species coming from globally. To date, we reviewed federal register listing documents for all endangered and threatened animal species from 1975 through 2020. We identified all ESA listed animal species impacted by invasive species, and the taxa of these invasive species. We also summarized how specific invasive species taxa negatively impact protected animal species through various interaction types (e.g., competition, predation, herbivory, disease, parasitism, adverse habitat modification etc.). We are currently outlining the results of our analysis in manuscript form and plan to share our results with the National Invasive Species Council.