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Invasive Species Science in Oklahoma and Texas

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By Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center April 19, 2018

The USGS Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center (OTWSC) has studies looking at the occurrence and impact of invasive species in Oklahoma and Texas. Visit the links below for more information on our data and science.

 

INVASIVE SPECIES SCIENCE CAPABILITIES

OTWSC has expertise in invasive species science applications, including, but not limited to: 

  • Evaluating changes to water budgets from invasive species management
  • Monitoring water-quality changes from invasive species removal and containment
  • Collecting and analyzing water samples for invasive species
  • Monitoring invasive species populations and growth
  • Analyzing occurrence, distribution, and water-quality data to enhance understanding of invasive species ecology and potential range

 

Find out more about OTWSC biological science expertise in this printable information sheet.

The referenced media source is missing and needs to be re-embedded.

CURRENT INVASIVE SPECIES SCIENCE 

Media
Clean artificial substrate on the right and same substrate covered with zebra mussels on the left from North Texas lake
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Clean artificial substrate on the right and same substrate covered with zebra mussels on the left from North Texas lake. (Public domain.)

Evapotranspiration Monitoring at Huisache Removal Site

Water Quality Monitoring of Arundo Cane Removal Treatment

Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program

 

 

Projects related to invasive species science are listed below.

link
Arundo Cane

Water Quality Monitoring of Arundo Cane Removal Treatment

The USGS Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center is evaluating the water-quality effects of certain herbicides used in Arundo cane eradication along the Rio Grande from Del Rio downstream to the confluence with Sycamore Creek (approximately 10 miles), along which the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) will be conducting cane eradication using herbicides.
By
Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center
link

Water Quality Monitoring of Arundo Cane Removal Treatment

The USGS Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center is evaluating the water-quality effects of certain herbicides used in Arundo cane eradication along the Rio Grande from Del Rio downstream to the confluence with Sycamore Creek (approximately 10 miles), along which the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) will be conducting cane eradication using herbicides.
Learn More
link
Evapotranspiration monitor at grass site

Effects of Huisache Removal on Evapotranspiration

USGS Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center scientists are evaluating potential changes in the hydrologic budget, specifically evapotranspiration, as a result of brush management (applied to huisache) as a conservation practice.
By
Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center
link

Effects of Huisache Removal on Evapotranspiration

USGS Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center scientists are evaluating potential changes in the hydrologic budget, specifically evapotranspiration, as a result of brush management (applied to huisache) as a conservation practice.
Learn More
link
Zebra Mussels

Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program (ZMMP)

The zebra mussel is an invasive species that has spread rapidly in the United States. The first confirmed detection of zebra mussels in Texas occurred in 2009 at Lake Texoma along the Texas–Oklahoma border. The USGS Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program for Texas (ZMMP) began in April 2010 and has expanded over time in response to the continued spread of zebra mussels in Texas.
By
Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center
link

Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program (ZMMP)

The zebra mussel is an invasive species that has spread rapidly in the United States. The first confirmed detection of zebra mussels in Texas occurred in 2009 at Lake Texoma along the Texas–Oklahoma border. The USGS Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program for Texas (ZMMP) began in April 2010 and has expanded over time in response to the continued spread of zebra mussels in Texas.
Learn More
link
Honey Creek in the Honey Creek State Natural Area, Comal County, Texas.

Effects of Brush Management on Water Budget and Water Quantity, Honey Creek State Natural Area

Woody vegetation, including ashe juniper ( Juniperus ashei), has encroached on areas in central Texas that were historically oak grassland savannah. Encroachment of woody vegetation is generally attributed to overgrazing and fire suppression. Removing ashe juniper and allowing native grasses to reestablish in the area as a brush management conservation practice might change the hydrology in the...
By
Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center
link

Effects of Brush Management on Water Budget and Water Quantity, Honey Creek State Natural Area

Woody vegetation, including ashe juniper ( Juniperus ashei), has encroached on areas in central Texas that were historically oak grassland savannah. Encroachment of woody vegetation is generally attributed to overgrazing and fire suppression. Removing ashe juniper and allowing native grasses to reestablish in the area as a brush management conservation practice might change the hydrology in the...
Learn More

Publications related to invasive species science are listed below.

Spatio-temporal spawning and larval dynamics of a zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) population in a North Texas Reservoir: implications for invasions in the southern United States

Zebra mussels were first observed in Texas in 2009 in a reservoir (Lake Texoma) on the Texas-Oklahoma border. In 2012, an established population was found in a near-by reservoir, Ray Roberts Lake, and in June 2013, settled mussels were detected in a third north Texas reservoir, Lake Lewisville. An established population was detected in Belton Lake in September 2013. With the exception of...
Authors
Christopher John Churchill
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Effects of brush management on the hydrologic budget and water quality in and adjacent to Honey Creek State Natural Area, Comal County, Texas, 2001--10

Woody vegetation, including ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei), has encroached on some areas in central Texas that were historically oak grassland savannah. Encroachment of woody vegetation is generally attributed to overgrazing and fire suppression. Removing the ashe juniper and allowing native grasses to reestablish in the area as a brush management conservation practice (hereinafter...
Authors
J. Ryan Banta, Richard N. Slattery
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

USGS Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program for north Texas

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program for north Texas provides early detection and monitoring of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) by using a holistic suite of detection methods. The program is designed to assess zebra mussel occurrence, distribution, and densities in north Texas waters by using four approaches: (1) SCUBA diving, (2) water-sample collection...
Authors
Christopher J. Churchill, Stanley Baldys
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Simulation of streamflow, evapotranspiration, and groundwater recharge in the middle Nueces River watershed, south Texas, 1961-2008

The U.S. Geological Survey—in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District; City of Corpus Christi; Guadalupe–Blanco River Authority; San Antonio River Authority; and San Antonio Water System— configured, calibrated, and tested a watershed model for a study area consisting of about 7,726 square miles of the middle Nueces River watershed in south Texas. The...
Authors
Benjamin J. Dietsch, Loren L. Wehmeyer
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Effects of brush management on the hydrologic budget and water quality in and adjacent to Honey Creek State Natural Area, Comal County, Texas, 2001-10

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Edwards Region Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, the San Antonio River Authority, the Edwards Aquifer Authority, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority, and the San Antonio Water...
Authors
J. Ryan Banta, Richard N. Slattery
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center
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