I highlighted this in my talk at #ICAIS2026: Regulation of ship ballast water release has caused a remarkable 85% decline in the rate of invasion of the Great Lakes over ~20 yrs. This success story is a model for Target 6 of the Kunming-Montreal GBF. conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Vector control reduces the rate of species invasion in the world's largest freshwater ecosystem

The Great Lakes-St Lawrence River basin is the world's most invaded freshwater system. Ballast water release from transoceanic shipping is deemed responsible for 65% of invasions in the basin since t....

conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

As a rotiferologist from way back, it was nice to watch a talk on Kellicottia today, and its invasion of Brazil (well, that bit isn't so nice!). This genus isn't known from New Zealand yet, but is so distinctive, it is impossible to mistake it for anything else. #ICAIS2026

Nice talk, @milkinabag.bsky.social! A nice demonstration of how invader inoculation densities influence establishment success (i.e., propagule pressure). No, I wouldn't want to hang around mesocosms containing cholera also! #icais2026

Welcome to day 2 of #ICAIS2026! We started today with our plenaries Ian Duggan with ‘Lessons from research on vectors for the movement of freshwater invertebrates in New Zealand’ and Melodie McGeoch with ‘Governing biological invasions under rapid environmental change’

What a wonderful way to start the regular sessions at ACAIS2026. Tony Ricciardi (@ecoinvasions.bsky.social) discusses changes in invasions in the Great Lakes: his gateway drug, the zebra mussel; why invasion rates have changed through time, and, cage fighting amphipods. #icais2026

Gold Clams have moved from the Waikato into Auckland, arriving at the most obvious place imaginable. Where the pipes carrying water from the Waikato River go to. www.teaonews.co.nz/2026/08/18/g...

Gold clams found near Glenbrook mill spark iwi fears

Invasive gold clams found near NZ Steel’s Glenbrook mill spark iwi fears for the mauri of ancestral waters. Authorities probe pipelines, await eDNA results, and assess spread risks

teaonews.co.nz

Read more about this research here:

Invasive catfish linked to the decline of freshwater crayfish in two Aotearoa New Zealand lakes - Biological Invasions

The introduction of invasive species can have profound impacts on ecosystems, especially where endemic species have evolved in isolation. However, determining the influence of invasive species on nati...

link.springer.com

📑 #NewStudy by Kusabs et al. studied a catfish invasion of two lakes in Aotearoa New Zealand, to see if predation was causing a decline in a freshwater crayfish with severe cultural ramifications. 👀 doi.org/10.1007/s105...

Feeling a bit sore after a walk up to Wairoa Reservoir with the kids today! One of Auckland's water supply reservoirs, completed in 1975, at a time when Auckland was beginning to suffer from summer water shortages.

Never mind what Andy Zaltman - British comedian, author, broadcaster, and cricket statistician - is saying about the cricket, he is wearing a shirt covered in diatoms! @zaltzcricket.bsky.social

Cool study of the impact of an introduced North American freshwater fish on crayfish in New Zealand.

Frank Burdon@fburdon.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Invasive species are widely recognised as a major threat to biodiversity—yet quantifying their true impact can be challenging without long-term data. Our recent research highlights just how significant these effects can be.

Invasive species are widely recognised as a major threat to biodiversity—yet quantifying their true impact can be challenging without long-term data. Our recent research highlights just how significant these effects can be.

For my lab today I wanted to add in some tardigrades, which I ended up finding living in moss and lichen on a tree. This is the same specimen, the second (in the comments) slightly more squashed as the water evaporated, where you can see the mouthparts and claws with a bit more clarity. #tardigrade

A nice big rotifer, Brachionus calyciflorus, whose massive spines suggest her mother was exposed to some predators (likely another rotifer, Asplanchna). Two different planes of focus.

Monarchs got to New Zealand by themselves, but couldn't survive here until swan plants/milkweed had been introduced, which was likely as seeds in the stuffing of pillows with arrivals from South Africa. The wasps have taken most of our monarchs the last few years, but this one has been a survivor.

📢 📢 2 Weeks Remain | Early Registration for ICAIS 2026 ends on March 31. Register now to take advantage of reduced fees. Learn more and register: bit.ly/3J0O3JX

In my samples today, Wolffia australiana, which is recognized as one of the world’s smallest flowering plants.

Plenary Speaker Announcement | We are pleased to announce that Ian Duggan will be presenting ‘Mitigation trumps remediation: Lesson from research on vectors for the movement of freshwater invertebrates in New Zealand’ at ICAIS 2026.

Voting for New Zealand Bug of the Year closes in a few short hours! You don't need to be local to vote. This year I'm team Hellraiser Mite, because every year I pick the freakiest l'il guy I can find and just look at him. bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-20...

Really happy with this pub from Gemma (@antarctibug.bsky.social), based on sequences of many NZ rotifer taxa we collected over many years. Most NZ rotifer lineages appear to be unique to NZ based on current knowledge, with a few possible invaders in the mix. Useful sequences for eDNA going forward.

My colleague Nick has been using Waikato University's electrofishing boat to remove huge numbers of non-native koi carp, goldfish, catfish and turtles from Auckland's Western Springs. For the turtles and goldfish, your unwanted pets can become monumental pests! www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Pest cull at Auckland's Western Springs Lake using electrocurrents

Hundreds of goldfish, turtles and other pests are being pulled from a popular park's lake to be euthanised.

rnz.co.nz

The Giant Penguin fossil at Waikato Museum - Kairuku waewaeroa - (= food-diver long-legs). It lived in the Oligocene, at a time when Zealandia was almost fully submerged, with small islands and shallow seas prefect for coastal marine life evolution.

At Waikato Museum, where we stumbled across a virtual microscope display of what's in the Waikato River, featuring a bdelloid rotifer! It's turned my day around!

Go for length, Ian.

Ian Duggan@icdugg.bsky.social · 7mo ago

It's Bug of the Year time in NZ! Despite all being 'macroinvertebrates', there are some really good selections this year! Am I on team NZ Flatworm for being one of the invaders we have had go the other way? Or go aquatic Team Tadpole Shrimp or Intertidal Caddisfly...? www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

It's Bug of the Year time in NZ! Despite all being 'macroinvertebrates', there are some really good selections this year! Am I on team NZ Flatworm for being one of the invaders we have had go the other way? Or go aquatic Team Tadpole Shrimp or Intertidal Caddisfly...? www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

Which bug is the mightiest of the year?

You've probably all heard of Bird of the Year, but Bug of the Year might be new to you. Much like the name suggests, it is a competition pitting critters against each other. (Yes, we know the word "bu...

rnz.co.nz

This is so crazy! Invasive mallards in NZ have been observed preying on the chicks of our "bird of the century", pūteketeke. "This duck behaviour was unknown to DoC experts, and there was a concern that it would spread, as ducks learned from each other". www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/doc-fears...

'We were horrified': DoC shock as ducks filmed eating native chicks alive

DoC has euthanised three mallards from Lake Alexandrina to stop copycat attacks.

nzherald.co.nz

Gold clam detecting dogs - Some work from my colleagues. www.nzherald.co.nz/waikato-news...

Meet the dogs sniffing out a tiny clam threatening Waikato waterways

Gold clams can form carpets of up to 10,000 clams per square metre.

nzherald.co.nz

It's been a few months since the last dragon fruit update, but they have now been planted in a bigger pot outside.

Pleated inkcaps growing on the lawn.

Uh oh... Corbicula has spread byond the Waikato River to Lake Rotomanu in Taranaki. www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Lake Rotomanu closed to motorised boats after discovery of invasive clam

Taranaki Regional Council said it was unknown how the clams got into the lake, but the focus now was making sure they did not spread to other Taranaki lakes or rivers.

rnz.co.nz