On a water-soaked deck, Russell steadies himself as the huge ship is tossed by the powerful waves. Offshore in Lake Michigan, he collects samples from the lake’s bottom. Within the sediment brought onboard, he hopes to find clues about competition among the alien species invading the lake.

In the late 1980s, a small alien mollusk called the zebra mussel invaded the waters of the Great Lakes. They were stowaways in the ballast of ocean-going ships. Rich resources and few predators provided the right conditions for the zebra mussel population to explode. Their massive numbers consumed resources and clogged intake pipes of ships and power stations. Zebra mussels caused billions of dollars in damage and changed the ecology of the Great Lakes.

Soon after the zebra mussel appeared, another invasive mussel species was observed in Lake Michigan—the quagga mussel. Like the first invaders, quagga mussels are changing the balance of energy in the lake’s ecosystem. Russell wants to know how these invasive mussels affect the interactions of all species within the ecosystem and what changes have occurred in the resources of Lake Michigan. He is monitoring the chemistry of the water and observing changes in the populations of the ecological community to understand how the lake is responding to this double invasion. Russell’s work has revealed a decline in the population of zebra mussels. The quagga mussels are out-competing the zebra mussels. The aliens battled, and the better-adapted quaggas seem to be winning.

Russell continues to study the changing ecosystem and hopes that what he learns will help the public to understand what is happening in Lake Michigan. His research will help us predict and prepare for the long-term consequences of changes in the ecosystem. Russell’s research is also showing the natural resiliency of an ecosystem as it adjusts and changes with new challenges.