Eric R. Larson

Eric R. Larson

@ericrlarson.bsky.social

Associate professor in freshwater ecology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Crayfish, invasive species, environmental DNA, and more. https://publish.illinois.edu/erlarson/

2.9K followers5.4K following221 posts

Eric R. Larson reposted

Louie Lopez
@pinoyplankton.bsky.social

How can we monitor salmon in remote, rapidly changing watersheds where conventional surveys are hard to implement due to inaccessible sites? In our latest study in Ecological Applications, we used eDNA to detect Pacific salmon in emerging habitats within the Skeena watershed in British Columbia

Eric R. Larson
@ericrlarson.bsky.social

I spent my first thirty years across Wyoming (1982-1992), Texas (1992-2000), Idaho (2000-2005), Arkansas (2005-2007), and Washington State (2007-2011), and I'm always impressed these things triangulate that background reasonably well. But crayfish/crawfish/crawdad is a trap for me.

Eric R. Larson
@ericrlarson.bsky.social

A half century of invasive crayfish monitoring in northern Wisconsin continued this week with Cornell's recently retired David Lodge and first year University of Illinois PhD student Kaylin Wallen

Eric R. Larson
@ericrlarson.bsky.social

Was fantastic to celebrate David Lodge's career and outsized impact in invasive species research and policy at #2026SFS this week, and catch up with so many friends and colleagues working on these important topics

Eric R. Larson
@ericrlarson.bsky.social

Multi-metric indices are used to measure biological integrity in response to the US Clean Water Act. But can environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding plug into these existing tools? Our attempt for streams and rivers of Alabama now open access at the journal Environmental DNA: doi.org/10.1002/edn3...

Eric R. Larson reposted

Bruce Webber
@drbrucewebber.bsky.social

The interplay between climatic niche and spatial distribution can inform the management of non-native invasive species. Our findings reveal that the invasion risk for species with small geographic ranges may be greater than assumed. Read more (OA): doi.org/10.1016/j.ec... #bioinvasions 🌐🌏🧪

Eric R. Larson
@ericrlarson.bsky.social

This is another of our studies that I really value for getting us out to the same streams throughout the year, with a snapshot here of a few of our fall and winter sampling events.

Eric R. Larson
@ericrlarson.bsky.social

I know this result is a bit obvious, but I think it merits evidencing: if you remove all vegetation from miles of natural streams, there are costs to wildlife and to people who enjoy and benefit from that wildlife. If you hunt or fish or bird watch or hike, we live in a diminshed landscape.

Eric R. Larson
@ericrlarson.bsky.social

With a press release from @lquinnphd.bsky.social available at: aces.illinois.edu/news/terrest...

aces.illinois.eduTerrestrial biodiversity grows with tree cover in agricultural landscapes | College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences | IllinoisFarmers plant or preserve riparian buffers for various reasons, such as improving water quality, controlling erosion, or maintaining hunting habitat. Now, a new study from the University of Illinois U...
Eric R. Larson
@ericrlarson.bsky.social

Completed my annual trip to northern Wisconsin, continuing population monitoring of invasive rusty crayfish (Faxonius rusticus) that extends back to the 1970s. Populations remain down, at only ~25% of past peak abundances, with surprising catches of large native snails in our traps.

Eric R. Larson reposted

Chicago Tribune
@chicagotribune.com

The RELIX catalogues every plant species in 353 prairie remnants — parts of the native grasslands of the Midwest that were not converted to farmland during colonization.

chicagotribune.comNew database catalogs plant species in latest effort to restore prairiesThe RELIX catalogues every plant species in 353 prairie remnants — parts of the native grasslands of the midwest that were not converted to farmland during colonization.
Eric R. Larson
@ericrlarson.bsky.social

This pool was packed with non-native virile crayfish; we recovered >120 in only four traps. It will likely dry out by the end of summer, but virile crayfish have dispersed through this intermittent reach. We found them abundant in the permanent stream higher up the watershed (photos 2 & 3).

Eric R. Larson
@ericrlarson.bsky.social

The manager at this property noted they have problems with the invasive crayfish clogging irrigation infrastructure downstream of the diversion. Economic damages to agriculture from invasive crayfish are well-known on other continents, but I wonder if we've missed an impact in the arid western US.

Eric R. Larson@ericrlarson.bsky.social

This was another barrier where non-native crayfish passage was obvious before we started sampling. Here a small gate in one of the water control structures was clogged with carcasses from the upstream pool. I think this barrier is open to flow at times of the year when crayfish are moving around.

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Eric R. Larson
@ericrlarson.bsky.social

Here an abundance of crayfish claws and carapaces have been cleaned out of center pivot irrigation filters that had clogged. In our study region, many farmers and ranchers identify this as a problem, but I don't think anyone has quantified these type of impacts of invasive crayfish to agriculture.

Eric R. Larson
@ericrlarson.bsky.social

The manager at this property noted they have problems with the invasive crayfish clogging irrigation infrastructure downstream of the diversion. Economic damages to agriculture from invasive crayfish are well-known on other continents, but I wonder if we've missed an impact in the arid western US.

Eric R. Larson@ericrlarson.bsky.social

This was another barrier where non-native crayfish passage was obvious before we started sampling. Here a small gate in one of the water control structures was clogged with carcasses from the upstream pool. I think this barrier is open to flow at times of the year when crayfish are moving around.