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Dr. David L. Strayer

Freshwater Ecologist | PhD, 1984, Cornell University

Expertise
Hudson River, invasive species, streams

Dave Strayer is a freshwater ecologist whose current work focuses on measuring the long-term effects of zebra mussels on the Hudson River ecosystem, and understanding the roles of suspension-feeding animals in ecosystems. Strayer also works on broader issues in freshwater conservation ecology and invasion biology.

Species introductions are one of the most important ways by which humans affect the Earth’s ecosystems. Strayer has been involved in much research in this area, particularly regarding the zebra mussel. This tiny bivalve arrived in North America from Europe in the 1980s and has caused hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damage and widespread ecological change.

Water clarity, water chemistry, food webs, and populations of native species, including fish, in the Hudson River all changed after zebra mussels arrived. Now, decades after their first appearance, Strayer and Cary scientists see evidence of fundamental long-term changes in the relationship between the river and the invader. The Cary group has been tracking this changing relationship for almost 30 years, providing one of the longest and most detailed case studies in invasion ecology.

Strayer also works on the ecology and conservation of native pearly mussels, a highly diverse and imperiled group of animals. He wrote Freshwater Mussel Ecology: A Multifactor Approach to Distribution and Abundance.

Zebra mussels and pearly mussels are examples of suspension-feeders – animals that feed by removing tiny particles from the water. These animals can have large, pervasive effects on aquatic ecosystems.  Strayer is currently working to synthesize information and understanding of freshwater suspension-feeders across a wide range of species and ecosystems.

In addition to his scientific publications, Strayer has written several dozen essays for the general public, which are collected in The Lost Snail of the Yangtze and Other Essays.

Strayer, David L. 2008. “A New Widespread Morphological Deformity in Freshwater Mussels from New York”. Northeast. Natural 15: 149-51. http://www.caryinstitute.org/reprints/Strayer_2008_Northeastern_Nat.pdf.
Newton, T.J., D.A. Woolnough, and David L. Strayer. 2008. “Using Landscape Ecology to Understand and Manage Freshwater Mussel Populations”. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 27: 424-39.
Perkins, S.E., Sonia Altizer, O. Bjornstad, J.J. Burdon, K. Clay, L. Gómez-Aparicio, Jonathan M. Jeschke, et al. 2008. “Invasion Biology and Parasitic Infections”. In R. S. Ostfeld, F. Keesing, and V. Eviner (eds.). Infectious Disease Ecology: Effects of Ecosystems on Disease and of Disease on Ecosystems, 179-204. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
Jeschke, Jonathan M., and David L. Strayer. 2008. “Usefulness of Bioclimatic Models for Studying Climate Change and Invasive Species”. In R. S. Ostfeld and W. H. Schlesinger (eds.). The Year in Ecology and Conservation Biology. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1134:1-24. Blackwell Scientific Publishing, Boston.
Jeschke, Jonathan M., and David L. Strayer. 2008. “Are Threat Status and Invasion Success Two Sides of the Same Coin?”. Ecography 31: 124-30. http://www.caryinstitute.org/reprints/Jeschke_Strayer_Ecography_2008.pdf.
Meyer, J.L., David L. Strayer, J.B. Wallace, S.L. Eggert, G.S. Helfman, and N.E. Leonard. 2007. “The Contribution of Headwater Streams to Biodiversity in River Networks”. J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc 43: 86-103.
Strayer, David L., and Heather M. Malcom. 2007. “Effects of Zebra Mussels (Dreissena Polymorpha) on Native Bivalves: The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning?”. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 26: 111-22.
Strayer, David L., and Heather M. Malcom. 2007. “Shell Decay Rates of Native and Alien Freshwater Bivalves and Implications for Habitat Engineering”. Freshwater Biol. 52: 1611-17. http://www.caryinstitute.org/reprints/Strayer_Malcom_FWB_shell_decay_2007.pdf.
Strayer, David L., and Heather M. Malcom. 2007. “Submersed Vegetation As Habitat for Invertebrates in the Hudson River Estuary”. Estuaries and Coasts 30: 253-64. http://www.caryinstitute.org/reprints/Strayer_SAV_Estuaries_2007.pdf.
Jeschke, Jonathan M., and David L. Strayer. 2006. “Determinants of Vertebrate Invasion Success in Europe and North America”. Global Change Biol. 12: 1608-19.

Articles by David Strayer