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/
Another summer looking for the rare, native Pilose Crayfish (Pacifastacus gambelii) throughout the Bear River watershed of Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah
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
Scientists have long pulled DNA from water and soil, but they have only just started to see the air as a source of genetic information go.nature.com/4tUdRcA
The air is full of DNA — here’s what scientists are using it for
Nature - Airborne genetic material can be used to paint a picture of ecosystem health, watch for invasive species and even identify humans.
go.nature.com
The baffling ecological disaster that's killing America’s freshwater mussels | Scientific American share.google/pTWzBnZBssaZ...
The baffling ecological disaster that’s killing America’s freshwater mussels
Biologists are racing to save America’s freshwater mussels—the water-filtering keystone species that once filled the country’s rivers and streams—from extinction
share.google
Mechanisms for regime shifts differ in shallow versus deep lakes - commentary - tinyurl.com/4wepyjbu
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...
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 🌐🌏🧪
Love rivers?! Looking for an exciting PhD opportunity to better understand how to restore rivers at a landscape scale with multiple stakeholders?! Details below! @stir.ac.uk www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Do precipitation events have opposing effects on aquatic versus terrestrial environmental DNA (eDNA) recovered from streams and rivers? New from the lab at Ecological Applications: doi.org/10.1002/eap....
National assessment of river protection in the U.S. Article: doi.org/10.1038/s418... Policy Brief: doi.org/10.1038/s418... Rivers Explorer: map.myriver.americanrivers.org Collaboration b/t American Rivers, Conservation Science Partners, Univ WA @americanrivers.bsky.social Thread 👇 | DM for PDF
Excited that our newly described Okanagan Crayfish makes an appearance on the CBC's cool species of 2025 list: www.cbc.ca/news/science...
Tarantula with XXL genitalia, 'death ball' sponge among cool species of 2025 | CBC News
A spider with extraordinary genitalia, a carnivorous caterpillar that wears its prey's body parts, and a tiny opossum are among the cool new species described by science in 2025.
cbc.ca
I'm recruiting a Ph.D. student for Fall 2026. Interested in comparative studies and trait evolution in fishes? Send me an email with a CV and research interests. Please take a look at my website (jcorush.github.io ) for more information about my research. #hybridization #minnows #mudskippers
Corush Lab
jcorush.github.io
The Sangamon River of Illinois through the seasons. We visited this site every few weeks in 2025 to track changing stream communities with environmental DNA.
New OA study led by Dr. Caitlin Bloomer of U. Illinois: can you predict good habitat for burrowing crayfish even if your model is trained on data from different burrowing crayfish species (doi.org/10.1111/fwb....)? Highly relevant to these hard-to-detect and identify animals.
Riparian buffers help more than just streams and rivers in agricultural landscapes. Lab Masters student Olivia Reves used environmental DNA (eDNA) to quantify the benefit of riparian buffers to terrestrial wildlife in downstate Illinois; open access at doi.org/10.1111/1365...
New invasion note from southern Idaho, where we've rediscovered the non-native red swamp crayfish after a half century without detection (doi.org/10.3391/bir....). Intensive burrowing by red swamp crayfish could be a risk to canals and other irrigation infrastructure.
New faculty position in the University of Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences for an assistant or associate professor of agroecology: illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree.... Position closes October 31st. Happy to answer questions about the dept / university / town.
UPDATE: The 2025-2026 list of faculty and postdoc positions in ecology and evolutionary biology is out! Be sure to check out this active and helpful community run resources! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
ecoevojobs.net 2025-26
docs.google.com
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.
It was a real pleasure to participate in the Mazama Newt Workshop at Crater Lake hosted by the @oregonzoo.bsky.social and the National Park Service. Discussions focused on a recovery plan for the Mazama newt in light of an exploding invasive signal crayfish. Great to see @ericrlarson.bsky.social!
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.
New database catalogs plant species in latest effort to restore prairies
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.com
Our search for invasive crayfish barriers includes more than just dams or irrigation diversions. Because the virile crayfish is intolerant of stream drying (doi.org/10.1086/725318), intermittent reaches could present barriers to upstream spread to permanent streams in the mountains.
