Transcript Can you identify the invaders?

Michigan’s Most Unwanted
How to identify Michigan’s invasive
species and why we should worry
Can you identify the invaders?
Suspect #1
Suspect #2
Suspect #4
Suspect #3
Can you identify the invaders?
Dame’s rocket (invasive)
Fireweed (native)
Purple loosestrife
(invasive)
Foxglove (exotic)
How about this suspect list?
Suspect #3
Suspect #1
Suspect #2
Suspect #4
How about this suspect list?
Autumn olive
(invasive)
Canadian fly
honeysuckle
(native)
Multiflora
rose (invasive)
Michigan Holly (native)
Who’s the invader?
Suspect #1
Suspect #3
Suspect #2
Suspect #4
Who’s the invader?
Round Goby
Freshwater Dam
Brook Trout
Lake Whitefish
Who’s the invader?
Suspect #1
Suspect #1
Suspect #3
Suspect #2
Suspect #3
Who’s the invader?
Suspect #1
Purplestem Angelica
(Angelica
atropurpurea)
Suspect #3
Poison Hemlock
(Conium
maculatum)
Hairy Angelica
(Angelica
venenosa)
Why should we care?
• Economic impacts $$$
• Impacts on native
species and biodiversity
• Habitat alteration
Dichotomous Keys Made Easy
A dichotomous key is
a reference tool used
mainly in biology. It
allows the user to
determine what an
organism is by
answering numerous
questions that have
only two possible
answers.
Decide how to separate what you are
identifying into two groups by picking
one character
1 Object is a shade of green…go to 2
1’ Object is a shade of blue…go to 4
Then choose one group and
repeat…further dividing this group
into two smaller subgroups
2 Object has 3 sides…triangle
2’ Object has 4 side…go to 3
Then choose another subgroup and
further divide this into an even smaller
subgroup
3 Object sides are all equal length…square
3’ Object has sides of two different
lengths…rectangle
Repeat this pattern until all objects
are identified
4 Object has rounded edges…circle
4’ Object has points…go to 5
5 Object has 5 sides…pentagon
5’ Object has 10 sides…star
Jelly Bean Key
Make your own key!
Make your own key!
Examine your plant samples
- Decide how to break them up into groups to
identify them
Example of first grouping:
1 Plant is woody…go to 2
1’ Plant is herbaceous…go to 3
Lamprey Eels
• Great Lakes invader
– Threaten commercial fishing