Aquatic

Invasive Species

In

Minnesota

What are Aquatic Invasive Species?

An aquatic invasive species is:1.) a non-native (or alien)

organism that can adapt to life in a new environment and 2.) whose

introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm

or harm to human, fish, or animal health.”

“Nonnative or

Introduced”

“Invasive”

“Established”

Consequences of Invasive

Species ?

• Ecology: they compete with &

displace native species

• Recreation: they can degrade

water quality & interfere with

recreation

• Economics: $138 billion a year

(estimate) spent in U.S. on

terrestrial & aquatic invasive

species damage & control

Fishingfury.com

Our region has fantastic

water resources at risk

from invasive species

Loss of recreational opportunities

Movement - Infestation?

• Human activity

- Intentional

- Unintentional

• Animal activity

- Feeding

- Travel pathways

• Weather activity

- Floods

- Storms

Plants

Invertebrat

es

Pathogens

Fish

Invasive Species in Minnesota

Plants

Purple loosestrife

Purple Loosestrife

Lythrum salicaria

•Characteristics

–Perennial, wetland

plant

–Native to Europe

–4 – 6 sided stem with

leaves paired and

opposite

–Can produce 2

million seeds

Purple loosestrife

Eurasian watermilfoil

Eurasian Water milfoil Myriophyllum spicatum

• Native to Europe

• 12-21 leaflet pairs per leaf

• Leafs are limp when out of water

• Spreads by vegetative reproduction

• Can form dense mats at the surface

Eurasian Water Milfoil

Negative Impacts: • Prolific

• Displaces native vegetation

• Alters lake ecosystems

• Limits recreation

What is Being Done? • Can not eradicate

• Education “how to prevent spread”

• Herbicide, mechanical, and biological control

• DNR Grant Program

• “Prohibited” unlawful to possess, import, transport, or introduce this species (civil penalty or misdemeanor)

Curly-Leaf Pondweed Potamogeton crispus

• Native to Eurasia

• Similar in appearance to native pondweeds

• “Curly” leaves with small serrations

• Can form dense mats at the surface

• Produces winter buds or “turions”

• Abundant in early spring dies back late summer

Curly-leaf Pondweed

Curly-Leaf Pondweed Negative Impacts • Prolific

• Displaces native vegetation

• Alters lake ecosystems

• Limits recreation

What is Being Done? • Can not eradicate

• Education

• Herbicide, experimental early season treatments

• “Prohibited”: unlawful to possess, import, purchase, transport or introduce this species (civil penalty or misdemeanor)

Flowering Rush

• Grows on shore and up to 8 feet deep

• “Prohibited”

• “Infested Waters”

Flowering Rush

• Minnetonka in 2009

• Nuisance levels in Detroit Lakes

Chain (Melisa, Sallie)

Zebra Mussels Dreissena polymorpha

• Small freshwater mussel

• Bivalve: 2 shells held together by a

strong ligament

• Unique byssal threads

• Filter feeders (1 liter water per day)

• Attach to hard surfaces, docks, boat

lifts, aquatic plants, native mussels,

wood, glass, and each other

Zebra Mussel Characteristics

General Information…

•Native to Russia

•Small freshwater mussel

.5 – 1 inch

•Unique byssal threads

•Filter feeder

Veliger

Females can broadcast at least 40,000 eggs per year

Reproduction at water temperatures near 54°F, maximum at 64°F

Veliger stage (feeding organ & shell forms)

Settling stage (byssal threads have formed)

Attaches to hard surface

Zebra Mussel Reproduction

How did they get here?

Ballast water from ocean going vessels

Zebra Mussel Reproduction

• Reproduction begins at water temperatures near 54 F

• Females broadcast up to 40,000 eggs per cycle and up to 1 million eggs per year

• Eggs are externally fertilized by the males

• Larvae (veligers) emerge 3-5 days after eggs are fertilized

• Veligers free floating for up to a month

Zebra Mussels filter feeding in Mille Lacs

2007

2011

Photos taken by DNR Fisheries Biologist Tom Jones

Zebra Mussel

Zebra Mussels The Negative Impact

• Prolific

• Suffocate and starve native mussels

• Out compete small fish for food

• Bioaccumulate toxins

• Impede recreation

• Block intake pipes

What is Being Done?

• May never eradicate

• Lake-wide control is not available

• Education to prevent spread

• Laws regarding the transportation

• “Prohibited”

Zebra mussel population in Mille Lacs Lake

• Zebra mussel #’s

• 2005=.0008 zm/sq.ft

• 2007=.0024 zm/sq.ft.

• 2009=4.4 zm/sq.ft.

• 2011=921 zm/sq. ft.

• Veliger #’s (water samples

under microscope)

• 2008=0.5 veligers/liter

• 2010=15 veligers/liter

Nicole Ward

Clogged intakes can impact water users

(recreation, industry, fish hatcheries)

Lawn sprinkler intake from

Zumbro Lake

Water treatment plant intake

pipes & screens

•Dead and dying zebra

mussels wash up on

beaches.

•Decaying mussels emit

a foul odor

• Razor-sharp edges of

their shells make

footwear a must when

walking the beach.

Mussel shells washed up on shore

Presque Isle State

Park – Lake Erie

Do any animals eat zebra mussels?

•Diving ducks

Natural predators

don’t eliminate zebra

mussel populations

•Freshwater drum

(sheepshead), some other

fish

Eradication not possible in natural waters

• Physical – drawdown and freezing in Lake

Zumbro - zebra mussels still present

DNR zebra mussel control efforts

• Chemical – copper sulfate in bay in Ossawinnamakee Lake – zebra mussels still present in lake

• Most chemicals not registered for use, and are much more toxic to other aquatic life (fish).

Can zebra mussels be controlled in

lakes or rivers?

2011 Zebra Mussel Expansion Twin Cities Metro

• Minnetonka

• Prior Lake

Ottertail County

• Pelican Lake

• Lizzie and Prairie

• Pelican River

• Rose and Irene

Douglas County

• Le Homme De Chain

•Long Prairie River

Central MN

• Mille Lacs

• Gull Chain

Mississippi River

Mississippi River 2009 near Royalton, Mn.

Pathway for zebra mussels

Do any animals eat zebra mussels?

•Diving ducks

Natural predators

don’t eliminate zebra

mussel populations

•Freshwater drum

(sheepshead), some other

fish

Rose & Irene Lake, Fall 2011

2012 Bill introduced in MN legislature that would

require any “boat lift, dock, or swim raft that has

been removed from any water body may not be

placed in another water body until a minimum of

21 days has passed”.

Quagga Mussels

• Slightly larger

than zebra

mussels

• Originally from

Dnieper River,

Ukraine

• Found in Lake

Erie in 1989

• Can live in soft

sediment

Faucet, Mystery, and New Zealand Mud Snails

• Difficult to identify

• Faucet snails are a Host for 3 parasitic trematodes

that can kill waterfowl – primarily divers

• Chinese and Banded Mystery Snail – can out

compete native snails, and foul beaches

• New Zealand Mud Snail –reaches high densities,

outcompetes native snails, may spread fish diseases

Faucet Snail

-Intermediate host of trematode parasite

- Tremetode attacks digestive system of ducks

- Cause duck/coot death

- Winnibigoshish

New Zealand Mudsnail

• found in

Duluth/Superior

harbor fall 2005

• spreads on waders

and equipment

• “Prohibited Species”

• “Infested waters”

Fish

• look like scuplins

• eat bass eggs

• causing declines of bass in Lake Erie

• “Prohibited Species”

• “Infested Waters”

Round Goby

Ruffe

• In L. Superior & St. Louis River

• “Prohibited”

• “Infested waters”

Spiny Waterflea Bythotrephes longimanus

• Native to Europe and

Asia

• Tiny zooplankter

approximately 3/8” long

• Long tail with spines

• Eggs resemble a grain of

sand

Asian Carp

• Bighead, Silver, Black, and Grass Carp

• Introduced to U.S. in the 1970’s to control algae

• Escaped from aquaculture ponds Silver Carp

Bighead Carp

Big-head carp

Big-head carp can eat up to

40 percent of their body

weight every day in plankton

Silver Carp

•Planktivor – filters food from water

• a few caught in Mississippi River in Pool 8

• “Prohibited Species”

Commissioners order INF-12-001 April 2012

Water designated infested with Silver and Bighead carp

Jackson County

Nobles County

and

Mississippi River below Lock 2

St. Croix River below Taylors Falls

Pathogens

VHS

Viral Hemorphoragic Septicemia

In MN: No

WI DNR

•MN DNR is actively testing

• Private industry testing

Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia

-50 species of fish are known to be susceptible

- A few Large kills of freshwater drum, round gobies,

muskellunge have occurred on the Great Lakes (2006)

-Great Lakes appears to have Atlantic Coast strain

New AIS Laws • Online education course for anyone transporting

water related equipment (2015)

• Civil penalties for violating AIS laws will double

(July 1, 2012)

• Lifts, docks, swim rafts, and other water related

equipment (not including boats) may not be

removed and placed in another water body for 21

days.

• Boat clubs, yacht clubs, & marinas are now

considered lake service providers.

• Bait containers used for ice fishing do not have to

be drained.

Prevent the Spread

Questions?