Our vintage lab study from 2014, showing evidence that river sediments can act as sinks for plastic microbeads: redpath-staff.mcgill.ca/ricciardi/Ca...

Here is a spongillafly larva (Neuroptera: Sisyridae) we removed from a sponge. Note the mouthparts (stylets) used for bypassing spicules and sucking sponge tissue.

Rivers are not simply conveyor belts of plastics to the sea. Microplastics can deposit & accumulate in river sediments. We first saw this in the St Lawrence River. Concentrations in some rivers are as high as the world's most contaminated ocean sediments: redpath-staff.mcgill.ca/ricciardi/Cr...

Dr. Kathleen Carpenter (1891-1970), "the mother of freshwater ecology", was a pioneer freshwater scientist who wrote the first English textbook on freshwater ecology ("Life in Inland Waters", 1928). Her book discusses aquatic foodweb interactions - and even mentions zebra mussel invasions.

Larval caddisfly nets (Polycentropodidae: Neureclipsis) in the lower Ottawa River. Just going with the flow.

A study led by lab alumna Noemie Sheppard of how feeding efficiency of marbled crayfish is affected by temperature & reproductive state. We conclude that climate warming will reduce feeding rates and increase the frequency & duration of gravid states. Read our paper here: rdcu.be/dm6Eh #bioinvasions

Awesome evolution: Several unionid mussels have adapted their mantle tissue as elaborate lures to coax certain fish to approach & be exposed to parasitic mussel larvae, which are ejected and develop on the host fish. The rainbow mussel (Cambarunio iris) displays a crayfish-like lure to attract bass.

For her MSc, lab alumna Jaime Grimm (now a prof of Biology at UVic) conducted a novel trans-Atlantic comparison of the ecological performance of populations of the spinycheek crayfish (Faxonius limosus), in its native & non-native ranges. Read the paper here: redpath-staff.mcgill.ca/ricciardi/Gr...

Climate change-pollution synergy: Elevated temperatures for the lower Great Lakes (predicted by climate models) and environmentally-relevant microplastic concentrations reduce growth & predatory performance of an invasive freshwater fish, round goby: aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

There once was a round goby named Jake, who lived under a rock in a lake. He'd become quite abrasive if you called him invasive, 'cause he's only one of a billion, give or take!

Two of our former lab mascots: Left: "Goby-wan Kenobi" - a round goby collected from the upper St Lawrence River by former student Heather Reid. At the time of capture, he was 175mm in total length! Right: "Clint" - a superb example of a virile crayfish, Faxonius virilis. No one messed with Clint.

A mussel transplant expt revealed key interspecific differences in growth and plasticity of zebra & quagga mussel gills in response to turbidity. Results suggest lower energetic costs of quagga mussels, perhaps a competitive advantage in low-food conditions: redpath-staff.mcgill.ca/ricciardi/Ou...

Interested in #microplastics in freshwater ecosystems and their growing significance to limnology? Read this article: cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

Colonies of the gelatinous freshwater bryozoan Cristatella mucedo, a native Holarctic species, collected from the Ottawa River.

Here is a review of the ecological impacts of freshwater mysid shrimp introductions, which could inform basic predictions of the effects of the bloody red mysid. redpath-staff.mcgill.ca/ricciardi/Ri...

Caddisflies using microplastics as case-building material can transfer plastics to their predators. We demonstrated this using a benthic fish, brown bullhead, feeding on Limnephilus larvae. Larval cases wth microplastics were weaker & more attractive to fish: redpath-staff.mcgill.ca/ricciardi/Pf...

Not all milfoils are the same: www.canr.msu.edu/news/the-mil...

www.alberta.ca/article-dont...

... For more info on the realized & potential impacts of this invader, you can check out our paper: redpath-staff.mcgill.ca/ricciardi/Ri...

Male tubenose goby (Proterorhinus semilunaris), with dark spawning coloration. Collected today from the upper St Lawrence River by Maddie Picard (@picard-m.bsky.social) and her field team.

Our lab's resident crayfish expert, Victoria Van Mierlo @vanmierlo.bsky.social, passed her PhD Qualifying Exam very smoothly this morning. She is now officially a McGill PhD Candidate. Congratulations, Vic!

Newly published chapter from the MSc thesis of @briellecomartin.bsky.social. Read it here: cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

New from our lab: Using the invasive round goby as a model predator, we show how model selection in functional response experiments is affected by context (habitat complexity; mobile vs immobile prey). link.springer.com/article/10.1...

New from our lab: Functional response experiments on invasive Tench vs native benthic fishes at different temperatures reveal (inter alia) that Tench have greater thermal compensation capacity than White Sucker and greater feeding efficiency than Brown Bullhead. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

www.nature.com/articles/nj7...

Interested in the marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) and its invasion potential? Have a look at our recently published biological synopsis, led by @vanmierlo.bsky.social Link: waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibl... #marmorkrebs #bioinvasions

The tench, a Eurasian freshwater fish, has colonized many waterbodies around the world, including the St. Lawrence River. One trait that likely contributed to the tench's invasion success is its broad environmental tolerance. Here is a classic example from Kennedy & Fitzmaurice (1970) #bioinvasions

We have published a biological synopsis of the marbled crayfish, Procambarus virginalis #marmorkrebs #bioinvasions Link: waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibl...

A spongillafly larva (Neuroptera: Sisyridae) taken from a sponge in the Ottawa River.