Life Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Invasional Meltdown On Community Structure In Marine Ecosystems In The Damariscotta Estuary Of Maine, Kate Lazzeri

Student Research Poster Presentations 2021

Basibiont organisms form the foundation of marine ecosystems by providing additional space for new species to settle on as epibionts. Invasive epibionts may take advantage of this new basibiont presence, which leads to many harmful effects on native organisms such as competition for both resources and food. In some cases, invasive species facilitate recruitment of other invasive organisms, a phenomenon referred to as invasional meltdown, but it is not known if invasion of new basibionts increases invasive epibiont occurrence. The purpose of this study is to answer the following research questions: 1) does the invasion status of the basibiont alter …