Not established in North America, including the Great Lakes Dikerogammarus haemobaphes has a high probability of establishment if introduced to the Great Lakes (Confidence level: Moderate).
It is a Ponto-Caspian amphipod identified as having high probability of invasion if introduced to the Great Lakes (Ricciardi and Rasmussen 1998; Grigorovich et al. 2003; U.S. EPA 2008); listed as invasive in Baltic Sea. The climatic conditions of the native (Ponto-Caspian) and introduced (Baltic) ranges of D. haemobaphes are very similar to those of the Great Lakes. While D. haemobaphes is able to survive in moderately wide temperature and salinity ranges, as well as hypoxic conditions, it is primarily a freshwater, riverine species (see Ecology). Its westward spread through all major European river systems connecting the Ponto-Caspian with the Baltic may have been limited by salinity levels to inland water courses (see Bij de Vaate et al. 2002). Nevertheless, its physiological tolerances are well within conditions occurring in the Great Lakes. Increased salinization as a potential effect of climate change (Rahel and Olden 2008) may be inconsequential to this species’ establishment in the Great Lakes, as it tolerates salinities up to 8 ppt (Holopainen et al. 2016). Arbaciauskas (2002) hypothesized that oxygen concentration is the principal limiting factor in determining the survival and sustainability of populations of Ponto-Caspian amphipods. Therefore, anoxic conditions, as present in the central basin of Lake Erie (Summers 2001), may prevent D. haemobaphes from establishing in some regions of the Great Lakes. Dikerogammarus haemobaphes constitutes a food base for multiple fish genera (Kelleher et al. 1998; Kostrzewa and Grabowski 2003; Grabowska and Grabowski 2005), though the extent to which this predation will have an effect on potential populations in the Great Lakes is unknown.
Feeding plasticity, high reproductive capacity, relatively small eggs, short egg development time, fast sexual maturation, brooding, and production of multiple generations per year are factors thought to contribute to the invasion success of this species (Bij de Vaate et al. 2002; Bacela et al. 2009). Dikerogammarus haemobaphes fecundity is moderate compared to that of the invasive gammarids D. villosus and P. robustoides (Bacela et al. 2009), but it is high in relation to invasive European gammarids as a group (Grabowski et al. 2007a). The autumn generation typically overwinters, but in thermally polluted waters (e.g., hydroelectric cooling water discharge), this species may reproduce year round (Kiticyna 1980); therefore, warming waters as a result of climate change could be beneficial to its invasion success.
Invasive dreissenid mussels are likely to facilitate the establishment of D. haemobaphes in the Great Lakes, as this amphipod preferentially colonizes living zebra mussel shells over other substrate types, including empty shells and stones, in the Ponto-Caspian and other newly invaded regions. It also consumes the detritus of dreissenid mussels (see Ecology).
The dispersal rate of D. haemobaphes across Europe is similar to that of many other Ponto-Caspian invasive amphipods (e.g., D. villosus), spreading across the entire European continent in roughly 50 years (Bij de Vaate et al. 2002). Dikerogammarus haemobaphes has outcompeted and displaced native European gammarids, but has also experienced declines in European waterways following expansion of congeneric amphipod Dikerogammarus villosus (Jazdzewski et al. 2004, 2005; Kinzler et al. 2009), which is believed to be the superior competitor and invader to D. haemobaphes (Dodd et al. 2014). For example, D. haemobaphes spread slowly up the Sava river (0.9 km/yr) and was quickly overtaken and displaced by D. villosus (Žganec et al. 2018). However, there is evidence to suggest that the two species may be able to coexist in environments with sufficient habitat. The expansion of D. haemobaphes in the River Danube was not greatly affected by D. villosus due to the abundance of both high and low velocity habitats, suggesting potential co-existence of the species as they can inhabit varying velocities (Borza et al. 2017). More information on the relationship between the two species is needed to determine if the establishment of D. haemobaphes in the Great Lakes would be diminished by D. villosus. Recent studies have found both positive and negative relationships between the two gammarids. Dikerogammarus haemobaphes perceives the chemical stimuli of D. villosus as a threat and avoids it. In contrast, D. villosus is attracted to the alarm cues of D. haemobaphes and follows it, which displaces both species further and can actually enhance the spread of D. haemobaphes (Kobak et al. 2016; Rachalweski et al. 2019).