🎉 Congratulations to Our Newly Elected Executive Team! We look forward to an amazing year ahead! 🎊 ✨President: Emma Schubert ✨ Vice President: Brielle Comartin ✨ Undergraduate Rep: Hana Kaloudis ✨ Social Media Rep: Madeleine Picard ✨ Co-Treasurer: Annabelle Vogl ✨ Secretary: Snigdhodeb Dutta

How are zebra mussels, water chemistry, and native unionids connected? Brielle Comartin ‪& Anthony Ricciardi ‬report on the impacts of biofouling in a lake with suboptimal calcium concentrations ➡️ https://ow.ly/pSNe50ZfXmr 📊: Comartin & Ricciardi, Fig. 6 | cjfas-2025-0135

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

@cars-afs.bsky.social · 3mo ago

{Whistle blows}. FOUL! Still happens to the best of lakes, like #LakeMemphrémagog in Quebec. 🐚 Despite suboptimal Ca quality (mean 20 mg/L) Zebra Mussels still took hold. 7 years later…rather than 3 to 5. Got to consider water quality! #BrielleComartin #ZebraMussels #UnionidMortality

Part of a stellar MSc thesis by @briellecomartin.bsky.social 💪🏻

@cars-afs.bsky.social · 3mo ago

{Whistle blows}. FOUL! Still happens to the best of lakes, like #LakeMemphrémagog in Quebec. 🐚 Despite suboptimal Ca quality (mean 20 mg/L) Zebra Mussels still took hold. 7 years later…rather than 3 to 5. Got to consider water quality! #BrielleComartin #ZebraMussels #UnionidMortality

{Whistle blows}. FOUL! Still happens to the best of lakes, like #LakeMemphrémagog in Quebec. 🐚 Despite suboptimal Ca quality (mean 20 mg/L) Zebra Mussels still took hold. 7 years later…rather than 3 to 5. Got to consider water quality! #BrielleComartin #ZebraMussels #UnionidMortality

2] However, substantial biofouling & unionid mortality began 7 yrs after invasion (compared to 3-5 yr periods recorded in Ca-rich lakes). We hypothesize that suboptimal water chemistry in the lake has delayed the onset of lethal fouling but is insufficient to create a refuge for unionid populations.

New from @briellecomartin.bsky.social 1] High calcium ([Ca]>25 mg/L) supports dense zebra mussel pop'ns. Lake Memphremagog has a mean [Ca]=20.3 (range 18.6–23.2) mg/L, considered suboptimal for supporting a zebra mussel pop'n large enough to harm native unionids. cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full/10....

The Ricciardians gather for our lab Christmas party. (Photo taken by @ecoinvasions.bsky.social) Note the secret hand sign. @tjcolvin.bsky.social @vanmierlo.bsky.social @ivanakomendic.bsky.social @emmaschubert.bsky.social @picard-m.bsky.social @briellecomartin.bsky.social @veronicagroves.bsky.social

Last week our field team investigated the effects of low water levels in the St Lawrence River. Shown left to right: @briellecomartin.bsky.social, @ivanakomendic.bsky.social & @tjcolvin.bsky.social Joining them was @ecoinvasions.bsky.social. The land on which they're standing should be under water.

Sampled an incredibly diverse site of freshwater mussels in the St. Lawrence River! @ricciardilab.bsky.social

A great week at Lac Témiscouata for @ivanakomendic.bsky.social fieldwork investigating zebra mussel associations with different substrates & macrophytes

AFS Bioblitz Recap #BlitzTheGap 🎥🎥🎥🎥

Was thrilled to find so many freshwater sponges during a practice dive in the St. Lawrence River, including some growing on unionid mussels! #freshwatersponges

Concordia is ready to represent the AFS...So many external rep applicants —we’re gonna need a bigger tank Concordia est prête à représenter AFS...Tellement de candidats pour le poste de représentant externe —on va avoir besoin d’un plus grand aquarium 🐠

Sampling in the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers for @vanmierlo.bsky.social’s fieldwork, targeting invasive spinycheek crayfish #invasivespecies #crayfish

Join us Saturday, July 19, 2025, for a day of biodiversity fun on Île Perrot to #BlitzTheGap with iNaturalist! 🌿🐟 We’ll be targeting understudied aquatic species—plus there’ll be prizes, food, and great company. We hope to see you there!

The zebra mussel invaded the Richelieu River in the mid-1990s, despite a suboptimal calcium concentration (18 mg/L). After 25 yrs of exposure to fouling, unionid diversity & abundance have eroded to the same extent as in invaded calcium-rich habitats. See our paper: cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/...

⭐Editor's Choice⭐ Long-term biodiversity erosion: limited co-existence of the Eurasian zebra mussel and native mussels in a North American river after 25 years | Zwarych et al, including @ecoinvasions.bsky.social doi.org/10.1139/cjz-... Free access for this month

Long-term biodiversity erosion: limited co-existence of the Eurasian zebra mussel and native mussels in a North American river after 25 years

North American unionid mussel populations have experienced significant mortality due to competition and fouling by the Eurasian zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1771). Habitats whose water c...

doi.org

Great article to read before the upcoming #IAGLR25 conference! @briellecomartin.bsky.social understands the spirit of what I'll be sharing in my improv workshop with this advice: "DO: Present your research (poster or talk) with confidence DON’T: Underestimate yourself"

The Ricciardians@ricciardilab.bsky.social · last yr.

Some wise conference advice for grad students, from briellecomartin.bsky.social : lebeagle.qcbs.ca/blog/the-dos...

The AFS community can rock more than waders and rubber boots! This year's symposium was a fashion show… and this isn’t even the whole look! More sneaky fits to come:) Il est CLAIR que la communauté AFS peut porter autre chose que des cuissardes et des bottes en caoutchouc. #AFSQCS2025

Wow, what an amazing event! 🎉 Huge thanks to all the presenters, attendees, and artists for making our 3rd annual symposium truly unforgettable. It was incredible to see the fish community come together! 🐟💙 Stay tuned for more recaps, and share your moments with #AFSQCS2025! 🏆✨

Congratulations to my lab mate @ivanakomendic.bsky.social on passing her QE! 🍻🤍 #PhDcandidate

Follow our students for posts about invasive freshwater fish, crayfish & mussels: (clockwise in photo below) Victoria @vanmierlo.bsky.social Kate @katest0rey.bsky.social Brielle @briellecomartin.bsky.social Emma @emmaschubert.bsky.social Ty @tjcolvin.bsky.social Ivana @ivanakomendic.bsky.social

🚨 Last call! 🚨 We love our last-minute folks—but only if it’s fashionably late 😉 Today’s the FINAL DAY to sign up for the symposium! 📢 Make sure to sign up using the link below so that you don't miss out!✨ #AFSQCS2025 linktr.ee/AFSQC

RING RING📞! The fish community is calling, and they’re not taking voicemail! 🐟 It’s the last week to sign up for the AFS conference—don’t flounder around and miss your chance to communicate with the current! 🌊 #AFSQCS2025 Can't wait to see you there:) linktr.ee/AFSQC

New #OpenAccess paper on the use of #nonlethal chemical cues on minnow behaviour🐟 ➡️ onlinelibrary-wiley-com.proxy3.library.mcgill.ca/doi/full/10.... as part of my PhD research @biomcgill.bsky.social

Introducing our new director Professor Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social with a video and a message of some of his hopes for the future!

In light of this year's theme, we are asking McGill Biology students how they communicate science. Regardez ce tik tok pour voir comment ils le font et inscrivez-vous à la conférence pour nous dire comment VOUS communiquez la science. vm.tiktok.com/ZMkgFhK8W/

📢 Mark your calendars! The 2025 Symposium: Communicating the Current is happening on March 25th Discover, learn, and connect with Quebec's vibrant aquatic research community 📅 Sign up now using the QR code below! #AFSQCS2025 #CommunicatingTheCurrent linktr.ee/AFSQC