Wagner et al. Simultaneously decontaminating angli
<b><i>Objective: </i></b>Successful invasion of AIS hinges on effective dispersal which is often greatly facilitated by human activities. A common dispersal mechanism is “hitchhiking’” on aquatic recreational gear and equipment including fishing boats and waders. Two recent co-occurring AIS in the rivers within the Laurentian Great Lakes region are New Zealand mudsnails (NZMS; <i>Potamopyrgus antipodarum</i>) and the algae Didymo (<i>Didymosphenia geminata</i>). Here, we developed and assessed an angling gear chemical decontamination method for NZMS and Didymo.<b><i>Methods:</i></b> Using a fully crossed experimental design, we tested the effectiveness of two household cleaning products (Dawn® dish detergent and the cleaning product Formula 409®) as a decontamination method against NZMS and Didymo. Briefly, we compared the survival and photosynthetic rates of NZMS and Didymo, respectively, when exposed to dish detergent, Formula 409, and a deionized water control to<i> </i>two application techniques (soaking and spraying), and application duration (10- and 20-minutes). NZMS survivorship was assessed over 96 h. Periphyton dominated by Didymo was removed from rocks and oxygen concentrations monitored following a closed chamber photosynthetic assay. Both NZMS survivorship and Didymo photosynthetic rates were assessed with a three-way analysis of variance.