Factors Facilitating Round Goby (Neogobus Melanostomus) Range Expansion in the Des Plaines River Watershed Illinois, USA

Abstract

The Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is an invasive species of fish accidentally introduced to the Great Lakes drainage in the early 1990s. The species has since expanded its range into the Mississippi River watershed through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The Midwest Biodiversity Institute (MBI) has observed expansion in the Des Plaines River and its tributaries beginning in 2014. I compared densities of Round Goby to habitat conditions and select analytes to determine what factors are contributing tocolonization and proliferation in these new localities. The selected model indicates habitat conditions, nitrates, conductivity, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), total suspended solids (TSS), temperature, (D.O.) wereall significant. Poor quality habitat, high concentrations of TSS and TKN are not well tolerated, while high concentrations of nitrates, low D.O., high temperatures, and high specific conductance weretolerated by Round Goby.