Invasive Species Essay

Today, what once was a scenic lake is covered in chest-high weeds. “ Boaters and fisherman enjoy going to Lake Bridgeport during the summer. But in the summer of 2013 the boat ramps were unusable so the number of residents going to the lake dropped. There are dead fish floating to the shoreline as well as many other wildlife animals. The lake tested positive for Zebra Mussel larva, which is shell like creatures that are very sharp and stick to boats, anchors and docks. The Mussels are very dangerous for the lake environment, but they also eat bacteria so they could help the lake water clear up. If no water is drained out of Lake Bridgeport then the residents of Eagle Mountain Lake and Lake Worth could possibly run out of drinking water.

As well as pollution, invasive species are damaging the lake ecosystems and food chains, made fragile by pollution and overfishing. The introduction of a new species throws off the balance of food chains. Some common invasive species include the sea lamprey, Asian carp, and zebra mussels, among many others. Zebra mussels have dramatically influenced and affected stable food chains by reducing the amount of zooplankton and phytoplankton. This presents a problem, as fish mostly feed on the drifters, and so they go hungry and die, leaving no food for larger fish to prey on. In addition to underwater disruption, it affects us as well, but only slightly. Plankton and algae especially are the most productive aquatic producers of oxygen, and by the decreasing population, we lose oxygen as well. The sea lamprey is also a problem, though it is not so influential to ecosystems as the zebra mussel.

     Their success in spreading rapidly and colonizing new areas is due to two features of zebra mussel biology. Firstly, zebra mussels produce large numbers (> 30,000 per female) of planktotrophic veliger larvae which can survive for 10-15 days (Hebert et al., 1989). Such larvae are well suited for efficient dispersal by water currents, especially in riverine systems. Additionally, they don’t require the presence of suitable host species of fish, as do native unionid larvae. Secondly, the spread of zebra mussels is aided by their ability to attach to objects by byssal threads (the same ability that leads to their fouling problems). Because of this ability, adult zebra mussels can attach to and be spread by ships,

Some examples include the zebra mussel, sea lamprey, and Asian carp. The zebra mussel first came to the great lakes by traveling in the ballast water of a transoceanic vessel. Over the years, it has spread into the entire great lakes system. They are very dense with contaminants, which causes predators to stray away from them and not digest them. The zebra mussel has had many negative impacts on the ecosystem. A zebra mussel can attach themselves firmly to any solid object, which has caused water intake and discharge pipes to clog. Some other impacts include suppressing native mussels, over clarifying the water, and stripping water from various plankton that native fish eat. Sea lamprey are another invasive species in the great lakes. A sea lamprey is an eel like fish that sucks bodily fluids from other fish. They have traveled to the great lakes on their own by swimming up the Hudson River. They have contributed to the collapse of the whitefish and lake trout fisheries. Some prevention actions have been put in place and include chemical treatments of spawning

Issue: The environmental issue that I have chosen is the impact that invasive species have on the environment. The impact that invasive species have on the environment is vast, yet little is done about it. This issue is extremely important and will impact the world for generations to come. In this paper, I hope to learn about the effect they have on environment and what we can do about it.

Species have been invading the Great Lakes for a very long time. “Scientists estimate that there are more than 185 invasive species in the Great Lakes today.” One of the species that invade the Great Lakes is the Round Goby. This animal usually feeds on fish eggs, Yellow Perch, Bass, and Walleye. The Round Goby is an invasive species because it kills other species, or it can make them extinct. Another example of invasive specie is Quagga Mussel. The Quagga Mussel usually sits in lakes or oceans, building up over a long period of time, this leads to millions, and millions

Introduced species are seldom a positive addition to an ecosystem as they cause great stress and harm to the populations of native species. Many introduced species become invasive as they have no natural predators in their new environment, therefore they thrive, and crowd out all other animals. Some examples of invasive species in Ontario waters include the round goby, zebra mussels, eurasian ruffe, goldfish, northern snakehead, rainbow smelt, and rudd, to name a few. A great example to show how destructive an introduced fish can be is the asian carp, this species spreads very aggressively and it is considered the greatest threat to aquatic ecosystems in Ontario. These fish grow to be very large in size, up to 40 kg and 1 meter long. The asian

In the article published by the Detroit Free Press “How do you get rid 750 trillion mussels in the Great Lakes” written by Kathleen Lavey, the author discusses how there is currently no technology that would help on a large enough scale to kill all of the invasive mussels. Lavey talks about how there are paints that contain chili peppers which muscles don’t atach to. Companies use this paint on intake pipes so they do not get clogged with muscles. Lavey also discusses 060Bio which a piece of foam that is infused with copper and zinc ions which muscles find unsavory. They place these on boats, that way boats don’t get infested with muscles and move them around the lakes. There are many different ideas out there but they don’t have a method that

Zebra Mussels are small mussels originally found in Russia, but were introduced into the Great Lakes in 1988. Zebra Mussels have spread throughout every Great Lake, and are prominent in over 100 inland lakes (Home). Ships traveling up the Erie Canal transported the zebra mussel from European waters into the Great Lakes. The zebra mussel quickly spread from Lake Erie to the other Great Lakes. The invading species began to attach itself to almost every solid thing in the Great Lakes. These can stick to boats, damage structures such as docks and piers, and they can clog water intake pipes, which are used for drinking and industrial use. Invasive species like the zebra

The author states that there are reasons to believe that Zebra mussel's invasion cannot be stopped and poses a serious threat to fresh water fish population and provides three reasons. In contrast, the professor states that there are ways to control mussel's spread and he said that they could not stop the spread in the past because of lack of knoledge and he opposes each of the author's reason.

What does the zebra do that it became an invasive species? Zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in the Ural, Volga, and Dnieper rivers. However, the zebra mussel has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas, and has become an invasive species in many countries worldwide. Since the 1980s, they have invaded the Great Lakes and the Hudson River. They are commonly found on the bottom of ships and eat the algae that is food for fish. Inspectors check ships for the mussels before they leave port. Zebra mussels are native to Eastern Europe and Western Russia and were brought over to the Great Lakes in the ballast water of ships. Populations of zebra mussels were first discovered in the Great Lakes in 1988. Impacts: Zebra mussels can be a

With the increasing amount of disturbed habitats, invasive species could soon become the leading cause of ecological degradation (Soulé & Orians, 2001).  Invasive species can alter habitats in a number of ways.  Changes in the physical structure of the land are the most visually obvious.  Examples include narrowing stream channels, reducing sand supply to dunes, and stabilizing surfaces such as mudflats, and each invasive species goes about these changes in their own way.  For instance, the burrowing activities of Australian isopods cause the banks of tidal channels to collapse, leading to the widening of channels and the loss of vegetated salt marsh (Cox, 1999).  On the other hand, Japanese mussels that have invaded the San Diego area are stabilizing mudflats.  Although reaching Southern California in the 1960s,

Other states who have had to deal with this problem are at a loss as to how to stem this menace to the water ways. Federal and State fisheries and game departments have no idea how to completely eliminate these invaders and at

Zebra Mussels,have spread rapidly since 1991. Throughout the years zebra mussels have been not good. First off Zebra mussels ate all of the plankton in the lake.After observing this more scientist made a discovery that it was making a difference of the food web.

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife, CPW, is doing everything that they can to control aquatic nuisance species. Regular boat inspections before entering a body of water and educating boaters are major ways of controlling ANS. Before entering a body of water that is regulated by the state, a boater must get a thorough boat inspection. For example, an angler takes a boat to John Martin Reservoir. In order for the boat to be allowed into the water, the angler must stop by the boat inspection office. One of the inspectors will come out and do a very strict inspection of the boat. Because zebra mussels, quagga mussels, and New Zealand mud snails can attach themselves to any hard surface, the engine, the hull, and any crevice in the boat and trailer must be checked (NEW SOURCE). When asked about how the CPW has reduced ANS in Colorado, aquatic biologist Jim Ramsay