• Effects of carbon dioxide on freshwater ecosystems and AIS. 
• Effects of changing precipitation patterns, such as flood and drought frequencies, on AIS 
establishment, habitat availability, and spread. 
• Effects of increasing temperature on AIS establishment, habitat availability, and spread. 
Ecosystem Susceptibility 
• Climate-change effects on the susceptibility of aquatic ecosystems to invasion by AIS. 
o For example, conduct studies to clarify the complex interactions among factors 
affecting species distribution and to determine whether climate change will increase 
susceptibility of habitats and regions to invasions, including assessment of positive 
interactions among non-native species and circumstances under which biodiversity 
may provide a barrier to invasions; 
• Restoration and resilience effects on the susceptibility of ecosystems to invasion by AIS 
in the face of climate change. 
• Studies of ecosystems recovering from disturbed states to understand the impacts of AIS 
on native species under changing climatic conditions. 
• Climate-change effects on different types of coastal and ocean currents and resulting 
effects on the spread and distribution of AIS and their impacts to coastal ecosystems. 
3.2.2. Interacting Stressors 
Additional research is needed on how other stressors (e.g., land-use change, overfishing, 
and pollution) interact with climate change and on how these interactions affect invasive species, 
including 
• How other stressors (e.g., land-use change, overfishing, and pollution), climate change, 
and susceptibility to invasion are related. 
• How increasing temperatures, water quality problems resulting from pollution, and AIS 
may interact and the feedbacks that may occur among these factors. 
• How changing precipitation patterns, water quality problems resulting from pollution, 
and AIS may interact and the feedbacks that may occur among these factors. 
• How interactions between climate and land-use change may affect distribution, spread, 
establishment, and impacts of AIS. 
• How development patterns may change under climate change and resulting effects on 
AIS. 
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