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A Spatially Explicit Method for Prioritizing AIS Surveillance Site Selection in the Laurentian Great Lakes
Citation:
Chadderton, W., A. Tucker, G. Annis, A. Davidson, D. Kashian, J. Hoffman, A. Trebitz, T. Strakosh, S. Hensler, AND S. LeSage. A Spatially Explicit Method for Prioritizing AIS Surveillance Site Selection in the Laurentian Great Lakes. To be Presented at International Association for Great Lakes Research, Detroit, MI, May 15 - 19, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
not applicable
Description:
Choosing where to sample for aquatic invasive species (AIS) is a daunting challenge in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Management resources are finite hence it is important that monitoring efforts concentrate on those sites with the highest risk of introduction based on transparent criteria and assumptions and the best available data. Here we describe the development of a site prioritization method designed to address such challenges. The U.S. waters of the Great Lakes and tributaries were divided into standardized management units (9 km x 9 km). An index of invasion pressure was defined using a standardized set of spatial surrogates to estimate cumulative propagule pressure for each management unit. Weighting multipliers were applied to the attributed spatial surrogate data so that both historic patterns and future predicted patterns of introduction were incorporated into the final calculation of the index of invasion pressure for each management unit. Of the total of 5,953 management units in the U.S. Great Lakes basin (land and water), about 1,800 units have attributes resulting in index scores greater than zero. The site prioritization method can be used to select surveillance priorities for fish, invertebrates, and/or plants across the U.S. waters of the Great Lakes basin.