Dissertation Research: Invasion and Coexistence of the Ascidian Botrylloides Violaceous in Subtidal Fouling Communities Along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, WA

海洋生态系统的组成日益受到非本地物种的影响。该项目旨在了解生态过程如何影响大规模的入侵模式的非本地海鞘，Botrylloides violaceous，在东北太平洋沿海海洋社区。 将进行实验室和田间实验，以量化非生物变量（如温度和生产力）对B的影响。紫色的人口增长。 然后，这将被比较，在不同的实验条件下观察到的人口增长沿着胡安德富卡海峡，华盛顿州，以量化生物因素的影响，如竞争和捕食，B。紫罗兰般的成功 这些观察和实验也将用于区分观察到的B共存的三种可能的机制。与其他物种的竞争：竞争不传递性，竞争殖民权衡和存储效果。 总的来说，这项研究将确定允许入侵者从低密度增加并持续存在的机制。本研究通过梳理影响入侵的非生物变量与生物变量的关系，探讨入侵与非生物变量的共存机制，将理论、实验和应用生态学中的重要问题综合起来，为未来入侵研究提供框架。 虽然入侵海鞘是一个日益严重的全球性问题，但它们很少受到关注，而且它们在整个地区的自然栖息地中的丰度几乎是未知的。 除了拟议的工作外，还将率先开展公共教育项目，以更好地了解入侵海鞘的地理范围。 工作重点将是提高公众认识，包括举办教育讲习班，并让当地潜水员参与华盛顿州沿海地区的入侵性海鞘监测。

The composition of marine ecosystems is increasingly affected by non-native species. This project seeks to understand how ecological processes influence broad-scale patterns of invasion of the non-native ascidian, Botrylloides violaceous, into coastal marine communities in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Laboratory and field experiments will be performed to quantify the effects of abiotic variables, such as temperature and productivity, on B. violaceous population growth. This will then be compared to population growth observed in different experimental conditions at four sites along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, WA in order to quantify the effect of biotic factors, such as competition and predation, on B. violaceous success. These observations and experiments will also be used to distinguish between three plausible mechanisms for the observed coexistence of B. violaceous with other species: competitive intransitivity, competition-colonization trade-off and the storage effect. In total, this research will identify the mechanisms that permit an invader to increase from low density and persist. By disentangling abiotic versus biotic variables affecting invasions across scales and exploring co-existence mechanisms, this study will synthesize important issues in theoretical, experimental and applied ecology to provide a framework for future studies of invasions. Although invasive ascidians are a growing global problem, they have received little attention and their abundance in natural habitats throughout the region is virtually unknown. In addition to the proposed work, public education projects will be spearheaded to better understand the geographic extent of invasive ascidians. Efforts will focus on public awareness, including educational workshops and the involvement of local SCUBA divers in invasive ascidian monitoring throughout coastal Washington State.