Project description
Invasive alien species – species that have recently expanded their geographic range due to human-assisted dispersal– can have profound effects on native communities and, from there, affect ecosystem services, human health and welfare, and the economy. However, the eco-evolutionary mechanisms associated with biological invasions remain far from clear. This project aims at filling this gap in our knowledge.
Methods
The red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii, Fig. 1A), one of the most invasive species worldwide, has been shown to profoundly alter the structure of freshwater ecosystems. Crayfish will be introduced in replicated pond ecosystems (Fig. 1B) and the dynamic response of multiple ecosystem compartments will be monitored.
Context and supervisors
The experimental part of this project is funded by the Aquacosm-plus European Network, and will take place in Rennes, France (Fig. 1C). Main supervisors will be Prof. Asbjørn Vøllestad at IBV, UiO, and Dr. Eric Edeline at INRAE Rennes.
Expectations
The master student is expected to work independently after training. The student will have his/her own working space and is expected to be present and participate in daily discussions and scientific meetings. The student must be ready to participate in collecting the data (pond sampling and microscopic enumeration), and in learning new computational tools for handling and analyze ecological data. Our goal will be to publish the results from the MSc project in an international scientific journal. The student will have to stay an extended period in Rennes (France) during the experimental period.
Contact information
Asbjørn Vøllestad (asbjorn.vollestad@ibv.uio.no) and Dr. Eric Edeline (eric.edeline@inrae.fr)