MN Aquatic Invasive Species Trends for 2018

In the land of 11,842 lakes, 69,200 miles of rivers, and 9.2 million acres of wetlands, Minnesota doesn’t joke around when it comes to AIS (aquatic invasive species).

MN Aquatic Invasive Species 2018

Along with the usual suspects on the AIS Watch List, the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center and Minnesota State Management Plan have surmised MN Aquatic Invasive Trends for 2018.

For a quick overview of Minnesota’s invasion, here’s a video.

Pictured below are the most destructive species threats. Click on the pictures to find a removal solution.

PLANTS

SEVERE THREAT:

Curly Leaf Pondweed

-Interferes with recreation and prevents native plant growth
-Submersed plant which forms thick mats on water surface.
-Almost identical to native pondweed, but unique in its serrated leaf edges
-First pondweed to sprout in spring, while midsummer die-offs litter shorelines with plant debris
-Can grow at depths of 15 ft and doesn’t require clear water

Eurasian Watermilfoil

-A perennial weed that reproduces via stem fragmentation
-Grows up to 20 ft tall but averages 3 to 9 ft.
-Introduced in the US in early 1900s and now found in 342 Minnesota waterbodies
-Provides unsuitable habitat for native animals
–Nuisance to recreation and other native species
-Flowers twice in one year (mid June and late July)

Purple Loosestrife

–Wetland weed that is native to Europe and Asia
-Root systems can change the hydrology of wetlands
-Discovered in Lake Ontario in 1869
-Sold for decades as a decorative ornamental plant, now illegal
-Lowers diversity by overpowering native habitat; cut weed before flower goes to seed.
-DNR successfully implemented a biological control agent (beetles) that lowers pop. density

Flowering Rush

-Present in 36 MN water bodies
-Grows on shorelines, in shallow, slow-moving water
-Grows differently in a submerged form (no flower)
-Inhibits recreation and dominates native habitats, threatening native species
-In Minnesota, only 1 population in Forest Lake produces viable seeds. Other samples are sterile, meaning the plant moves by vegetative spread

Starry Stonewort

–Starry Stonewort is not as cool as it sounds.
-It’s a green Macroalgae from Europe & Asia. Present in 7 US states. Currently in 10 Minnesota water bodies.
-Starry Stonewort has not been completely eradicated in any water body in the United States.
-Typically found in low flow areas of lakes. Identifiable by white globules on hair-like tendrils of stem.
-Out-competes native organisms with it’s thick matted growth.