How did alewife invasion affect food web function in Lake Champlain?

Timeline

February 1, 2024 to January 31, 2026

Description

The goal of this project is to compare cross-habitat coupling between food webs within Lake Champlain and between Lake Champlain and similar but alewife-less lake systems to isolate invasive alewife impacts on functional properties of the Lake Champlain food web.

The project will address three research questions:

  1. What is the current state of seasonal food web coupling of discrete habitats in Lake Champlain?  
  2. How do ecologically distinct regions of Lake Champlain differ in seasonal patterns of food web coupling? 
  3. What impact did alewife have on Lake Champlain’s seasonal patterns of food web coupling? 

Researcher(s)

Justin Lesser
Postdoctoral Associate, Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory, University of Vermont
Justin.Lesser [at] uvm.edu