Joseph R. Holomuzki

I am currently studying how flow extremes (flooding and drying) affect organization of stream macroinvertebrate communities. A key goal of this research is to provide resource managers with information on how periodic water release from dams can affect biodiversity in riverine ecosystems. I am also interested in community-wide effects of invasive species. I am particularly interested in how flooding, fish predation, and geomorphology interact to regulate populations of the New Zealand mudsnail, Potamopyrgus antipodarum. The snail has become a nuisance species in many parts of the world, including the Laurentian Great Lakes in North America and the western United States. I am also studying the effects of Phragmites australis (the common reed), a ubiquitous invasive macrophyte, and glyphosate herbicides used to control Phragmites spread, on benthic food webs in Lake Erie coastal wetlands. A key goal of this work is to provide baseline data on a practical economic strategy to limit Phragmites expansion.