Kelsey Alvarez del Castillo published the second paper documenting her studies on round goby in the Transactions of the American Fisheries Society in January 2026. Round Goby are a highly invasive fish species that have recently invaded the Hudson River Estuary, NY. Managers are concerned about the expansion potential throughout the estuary because of the novel interactions that may occur with native species and the ecological, and economic, impacts that may ensue. We predicted the expansion risk throughout the Hudson River Estuary and the invasion risk to adjacent coastal waters of New Jersey and Connecticut using adult Round Goby salinity tolerance survival data from experiments previously conducted by Alvarez del Castillo et al. (2025). Because experiments showed a significant difference in salinity tolerance based on water temperatures, we assessed seasonal expansion risk. Results showed Round Goby have high predicted survival, therefore there is a high risk of range expansion throughout the entire Hudson River Estuary and Long Island Sound, in winter and spring when water temperatures are cold. When water temperatures are warm, high expansion risk is primarily restricted to the Hudson River Estuary. This provides insight into seasonal temperature expansion opportunities and limitations, informing managers as to what areas may be impacted by Round Goby. Human mediated transport is a potential mechanism that can expedite expansion into adjacent watersheds as recreational fishing is a popular ecosystem service in these waters, highlighting the need for education and outreach.
Alvarez del Castillo, K.L., Sethi, S.A., Won, E.T., Maniscalco, J.D., Rudstam, L.G., 2026 in press. Assessing Round Goby invasion risk in the Hudson River Estuary and adjacent coastal waters. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc.
Alvarez del Castillo K, Sethi SA, Won E, Maniscalco J, Pendleton R, Ryan E, et al. (2025) Salinity tolerance of Round Goby: Informing invasion potential in North American coastal watersheds. PLoS ONE 20(4): e0316327. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316327
