Location: Food Processing and Sensory Quality Research
Project Number: 6054-10600-010-001-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2026
End Date: Jul 31, 2030
Objective:
This integrated project will address invasive species challenges across the MRW through the following objectives:
1. Enhance Surveillance and Early Detection
Implement coordinated, multi-state monitoring programs using field surveys, trapping, and emerging technologies (e.g., eDNA) to detect invasive species and track their spread.
2. Develop and Optimize Control Strategies
Advance biological control of aquatic weeds through improved mass-rearing and deployment methods.
3. Advance Host Resistance and Preventative Strategies
Develop crop resistance screening programs and evaluate native plant-based approaches to suppress invasive species establishment and spread.
4. Quantify Impacts and Establish Management Thresholds
Assess ecological and economic impacts of invasive species, including effects on crop yields and native biodiversity, and develop science-based action thresholds and intervention strategies.
5. Integrate Data into Decision-Support and Outreach Programs
Deliver actionable recommendations, decision-support tools, and outreach materials to stakeholders, enabling rapid adoption of effective management practices.
Approach:
This project integrates multidisciplinary approaches across ecosystems and taxa to improve invasive species management in the MRW. Surveillance efforts will combine field surveys, trapping, and synthesis of existing databases to map invasive species distributions and identify emerging hotspots across agricultural, aquatic, and riparian systems. Advanced detection approaches, including environmental DNA (eDNA), will be developed to improve early detection of key pests such as rice delphacid.
Biological control efforts will focus on optimizing the production and deployment of key agents targeting water hyacinth, including Megamelus scutellaris and Neochetina spp., through greenhouse-based rearing systems and field validation studies. In parallel, riparian field and mesocosm experiments will evaluate the use of native woody and understory plant species to provide biotic resistance against cogongrass invasion.
In agricultural systems, field and laboratory experiments will evaluate insecticide efficacy, crop susceptibility, and economic impacts associated with invasive pests such as rice delphacid and cotton jassid. These studies will support the development of action thresholds, optimized application timing, and integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. Complementary projects will establish screening protocols to identify and develop rice varieties with resistance to rice delphacid and associated viral pathogens.
Freshwater ecosystem studies will investigate the ecological impacts of invasive Corbicula on native mussel assemblages through field monitoring and controlled experiments. These efforts will quantify how environmental conditions and invasive species density influence native species health and ecosystem function, providing critical insights for conservation and management. Across all components, data will be integrated to inform spatial prioritization, improve timing and effectiveness of interventions, and support the development of comprehensive, region-wide management plans.
Deliverables
This project will produce a comprehensive set of outputs to enhance invasive species management across the MRW, including:
• Regional distribution maps and surveillance datasets for priority invasive species.
• Standardized monitoring protocols for aquatic, riparian, and agricultural systems.
• Optimized mass-rearing and deployment guidelines for biological control agents.
• Host plant resistance screening protocols and improved crop management recommendations.
• Science-based economic thresholds and integrated pest management strategies.
• Novel prevention approaches for invasive plants in sensitive ecosystems.
• Peer-reviewed publications, extension bulletins, and technical reports.
• Training workshops, stakeholder outreach programs, and educational materials.
• Decision-support tools to guide management and policy across the watershed.