Transcript Invasive Species

Invasive Species
Non-indigenous species that adversely affect the habitats
they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically.
Vocabulary
• Indigenous- native to a given region
• Non-indigenous species- Not native to a
region
Invasive Species
• out-compete native species
• destroy established commercial and
recreational fisheries
• ruin habitat for traditional uses
• alter the existing ecosystems.
• Kudzu, a Japanese vine species invasive in the
southeast United States, growing in Atlanta,
Georgia
Asian Carp
• How did Asian carp get so close to
the Great Lakes?
• Two species of Asian carp -- the
bighead and silver -- were imported by
catfish farmers in the 1970's to remove
algae and suspended matter out of
their ponds. During large floods in the
early 1990s, many of the catfish farm
ponds overflowed their banks, and the
Asian carp were released into local
waterways in the Mississippi River
basin.
How they get here
• Invasive species can be introduced accidentally
- in the ballast water of ships,
– or hitchhiking on travelers or packing materials.
• Sometimes deliberate introductions backfire with
unwanted, unforeseen consequences.
• In other cases, exotic species are introduced
illegally or escape from captivity.
New Zealand mud snail
• Affecting sport fishing from the Columbia
River system to the Great Lakes.
• These freshwater hitchhikers probably first
arrived in the United States along with
young fish shipped to an Idaho hatchery
from New Zealand in the late 1970s.
New Zealand mud snail
• reproduce asexually
• pass through fish unharmed
• Once established, these tiny snails disrupt
the food web by consuming the algae that
important native insects rely upon for food.
• In a short time, up to 60 percent of caddis
fly, stonefly or mayfly larva, which salmon
fry and trout eat, can be starved out.
• Fish suffer.
New Zealand mud snail
• "It looks like one of the main ways this is
spreading is on the gear, particularly the
wading boots of sport anglers," said Denny
Lassuy, the invasive species coordinator
for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in
Anchorage.
they even stick to flies.
Felt sole ban
• ANCHORAGE, Alaska, March 19, 2010 –
Alaska Board of Fisheries adopts a
statewide phase-out of felt sole wading
products, effective Jan. 1, 2012.
• The move is aimed at guarding against the
spread of aquatic invasive species.
A Rusty Spinner with attached snail
The black spots on the wing and
hook are New Zealand Mud Snails
European green crab
• Another potential invader of concern is the
European green crab.
• This crab, about 3 inches across, is a
voracious predator of young Dungeness
and other shore-dwelling crabs.
• Its inadvertent introduction around the
world has destroyed shellfish industries
from the Northeastern United States to
Tasmania, to South Africa.
European green crab
• Introduced to California about 1990, this
small crab has multiplied rapidly and killed
all other shore dwelling crab species in
some areas as it expanded its range to the
north.
European green crab
Atlantic salmon
• A potential threat to coastal salmon,
steelhead and trout fisheries.
• Atlantic salmon have escaped in large
numbers from fish farming operations in
British Columbia in past years.
• Potential impacts by escaped Atlantic
salmon include competition, predation,
disease transfer, hybridization, and
colonization.
Atlantic salmon
• The Atlantic salmon is aggressive and
uses the same spawning and rearing
areas in watersheds as rainbow trout,
potentially threatening these popular sport
fish.
Atlantic salmon
• The best way to identify an Atlantic salmon
is to look for the large black spots on the
gill covers and back but no spots on their
tails. Atlantic salmon have 8-11 rays in
their anal fins while Pacific salmon have
11-13 rays.
What do I do if I catch an Atlantic
salmon?
• If you catch an Atlantic salmon do not
clean it as we need the gonads to
determine if the fish is trying to spawn.
• Put the whole fish on ice and contact your
local office of the Alaska Department of
Fish and Game.
What are the short-term and long-term problems for
Alaskan fisheries because of the introduction of
Atlantic Salmon?
• These "invasive species" would compete
with indigenous Pacific salmon for
spawning and rearing habitat.
• interbreed with wild stocks, and dilute the
genetically based survival traits of these
wild stocks.
Northern Pike
• In South-central and the Kenai Peninsula,
pike are not native
• northern pike consume young wild salmon
and wreak havoc with other native fish
populations.
This wildlife biologist found these two pike on the shoreline of
a Bristol Bay lake. The larger pike suffocated while trying to
ingest the smaller pike.
Northern Pike
northern pike
northern pike
California Red-legged Frog
• http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/economic/main.shtml
Birch leafminer
gypsy moth
Gypsy moth defoliation of along the Allegheny Front near
Snow Shoe, Pennsylvania in July of 2007.
Roof rat- Rattus rattus
Brown rat
• http://www.stopr
ats.org/index.ht
m
Signal crayfish
• http://www.vega.o
rg.uk/video/progra
mme/58
Pythons invade Florida
Conclusion
• New Zealand mud snails, European green
crabs, Atlantic salmon, and northern pike
are just a few of the species threatening
our waters.
• But invasives are threats which can be
met and won.
RAT Island
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1 paper per 2 people
4 islands= 4 rats
Morphological, physiological, behavioral
Draw, label and explain
Why conservation?
• The remains of
slaughtered
elephants lie
amidst the trees
near Zakouma
National Park in
southeastern
Chad.
Albino Pygmy Monkey Twins Born
• pygmy
marmosets