Invasive Species: Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins

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Invasive Species Great Lakes and Mississippi
River Basins

• Marc Tuchman
• U.S. EPA
• Great Lakes National Program Office

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Ballast Water

• 30 percent of all introductions, several over
  past decade.
• Mandatory ballast water management program in
  place.
• Great Lakes as innovator for rest of the U.S.

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Sea Lamprey(Petromyzon marinus)

• Sea lamprey feed on bodily fluids of Great Lakes
  fish.
• Each lamprey kills 18 kg (40 lbs) of fish mass.
• Management has reduced to 10 of pre-control
  populations
• Total management cost over 10 million per year.

• Adult is 30 50 cm (12 20 in.), aggressive
  parasite.

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Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)
Adult is .75 3 cm (.25 1 in.), mature female
can produce one million eggs per year.
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Zebra Mussel Distribution in U.S. (2001)
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Impacts from Zebra Mussels

• Environmental
• Disrupts food chain.
• Promotes blue-green algae
• Toxic to some species.
• Taste and odor problems.
• Smother native mussel beds.

• Social and Economic
• Clogged water intakes (cumulative losses of 3.1
  to 5.0 billion dollars).
• Possible increase in bioaccumulation of
  persistent toxic substances.

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Purple Loosestrife(Lythrum salicaria)

• Out-competes native wetland plants, eliminates
  waterfowl food and habitat.
• Managed with Galerucella beetle.
• Years are required for biological control to be
  effective.

• Each plant is 2-3 meters tall and can produce
  2.7 million seeds each year.

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Eurasian Ruffe(Gymnocephalus cernuus)

• Grows rapidly, competes with native perch.
• Spine and bones make poor quality prey.
• No control method identified yet.
• Slowly spreading in Northern Great Lakes.

• Adult is 8-12 cm (3 - 5 in.), female can lay up
  to 90,000 eggs per year.

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Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus)

• Aggressive, territorial, consumes native fish
  eggs and fry.
• Consumes zebra mussels -- additional
  bioaccumulation of persistent toxic substances.
• No control method identified yet.

• Adult up to 18 cm (7 in.), discovered in the
  year 1990.

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Fishhook Water Flea(Cercopagis pengoi)

• Discovered in the year 1998.
• Long spine, hard to consume by small fish.
• May compete with fish for small zooplankton (for
  example Daphnia).

• Up to 1 cm (.4 in.), similar to spiny water
  flea (Bythotrephes cederstroemi)

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dnr.state.il.us/fish/ 2001/flyingsvcp2.jpg
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NOBOBs No Ballast on Board

• Residue in ballast tanks may include fish,
  plants, plankton, and pathogens.
• Investigating management technologies
• Filtration
• Chemical biocides
• Shore side facilities

• 75-95 of ships entering Great Lakes do not
  carry ballast, but may carry ballast residue.

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What can we do about it?

• Barrier additions/improvements
• Ballast water treatment technologies
• Address NOBOB loophole
• Develop early detection/rapid response plans
• Work with fish culture industry