November 3, 2015 – Five teams of fishery biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the National Park Service (NPS), and Florida International University (FIU) sampled for non-native fishes in canals, ponds and ditches in and around the Plantation/Davie area of Broward County, FL.
November 3, 2015 – This year, five teams of fishery biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the National Park Service (NPS), and Florida International University (FIU) sampled for non-native fishes in canals, ponds and ditches in and around the Plantation/Davie area of Broward County, FL. The goals and objectives of Fish Slam 2015 were similar to the 2014 event; to document the non-native fish fauna in waterbodies not routinely sampled by biologists.
RESULTS
Ten species of non-native and seven species of native fishes were observed and/or collected during the fish slam. The non-native fish were Butterfly Peacock Bass Cichla ocellaris (n=3), Mayan Cichlid Cichlasoma urophthalmus (n=16), Walking Catfish Clarias batrachus (n=3), Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella (n=2), African Jewelfish Hemichromis letourneuxi (n=47), Blue Tilapia Oreochromis aureus (n=1), unidentified Sailfin Catfish Pterygoplichthys spp. (n=3), Spotted Tilapia Tilapia mariae (n=60), Tilapia sp. (n=19), and Yellowbelly Cichlid Trichromis salvini (n=6). Native fish were Swamp Darter Etheostoma fusiforme (n=2), Eastern Mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki (n=14), Least Killifish Heterandria formosa (n=2), sunfish Lepomis sp. (n=1), Bluefin Killifish Lucania goodei (n=1), Striped Mullet Mugil cephalus (n=3) and Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna (n=2).
No new fishes unknown to south Florida were collected during the fish slam. The Yellowbelly Cichlids were the exciting find of the day. Although they are not a recent addition to South Florida (first recorded in 1981) there are only 16 records in the NAS database (USGS 2015) and very few vouchered specimens in the Florida Museum of Natural History.
All native species, along with two non-native species (grass carp and peacock bass), were returned to the wild alive. All field observations of non-nativeswere entered into the Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database (USGS 2015), and select specimens were sent to the Florida Museum of Natural History to serve as vouchers.
The participants of the 2015 Fish Slam were Jesse Blanchard (FIU), Mary Brown (Cherokee Nations Technologies [CNT]), Matthew Cannister (CNT), Andre Daniels (USGS), Zachary Fratto (NPS), John Galvez (USFWS), Kelly Gestring (FWC), Denise Gregoire-Lucente (CNT), Matthew Neilson (USGS), Pam Schofield (USGS), Jessica Schulte (CNT), Sarah Stanton (NPS), and Vanessa Trujillo (FIU)
Special thanks to Barron Moody, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, for assistance with permits for this sampling event.
REFERENCES
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (2015) Nonindigenous aquatic species database. Gainesville, Florida. Available via http://nas.er.usgs.gov/. Accessed 12 January 2015
CITATION INFORMATION
Gregoire-Lucente, D.R. and P.J. Schofield. 2016. Fish Slam 2015.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Impacts of Non-Native Fishes in the Florida Everglades
Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Program
Fish Slam 2014
November 3, 2015 – Five teams of fishery biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the National Park Service (NPS), and Florida International University (FIU) sampled for non-native fishes in canals, ponds and ditches in and around the Plantation/Davie area of Broward County, FL.
November 3, 2015 – This year, five teams of fishery biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the National Park Service (NPS), and Florida International University (FIU) sampled for non-native fishes in canals, ponds and ditches in and around the Plantation/Davie area of Broward County, FL. The goals and objectives of Fish Slam 2015 were similar to the 2014 event; to document the non-native fish fauna in waterbodies not routinely sampled by biologists.
RESULTS
Ten species of non-native and seven species of native fishes were observed and/or collected during the fish slam. The non-native fish were Butterfly Peacock Bass Cichla ocellaris (n=3), Mayan Cichlid Cichlasoma urophthalmus (n=16), Walking Catfish Clarias batrachus (n=3), Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella (n=2), African Jewelfish Hemichromis letourneuxi (n=47), Blue Tilapia Oreochromis aureus (n=1), unidentified Sailfin Catfish Pterygoplichthys spp. (n=3), Spotted Tilapia Tilapia mariae (n=60), Tilapia sp. (n=19), and Yellowbelly Cichlid Trichromis salvini (n=6). Native fish were Swamp Darter Etheostoma fusiforme (n=2), Eastern Mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki (n=14), Least Killifish Heterandria formosa (n=2), sunfish Lepomis sp. (n=1), Bluefin Killifish Lucania goodei (n=1), Striped Mullet Mugil cephalus (n=3) and Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna (n=2).
No new fishes unknown to south Florida were collected during the fish slam. The Yellowbelly Cichlids were the exciting find of the day. Although they are not a recent addition to South Florida (first recorded in 1981) there are only 16 records in the NAS database (USGS 2015) and very few vouchered specimens in the Florida Museum of Natural History.
All native species, along with two non-native species (grass carp and peacock bass), were returned to the wild alive. All field observations of non-nativeswere entered into the Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database (USGS 2015), and select specimens were sent to the Florida Museum of Natural History to serve as vouchers.
The participants of the 2015 Fish Slam were Jesse Blanchard (FIU), Mary Brown (Cherokee Nations Technologies [CNT]), Matthew Cannister (CNT), Andre Daniels (USGS), Zachary Fratto (NPS), John Galvez (USFWS), Kelly Gestring (FWC), Denise Gregoire-Lucente (CNT), Matthew Neilson (USGS), Pam Schofield (USGS), Jessica Schulte (CNT), Sarah Stanton (NPS), and Vanessa Trujillo (FIU)
Special thanks to Barron Moody, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, for assistance with permits for this sampling event.
REFERENCES
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (2015) Nonindigenous aquatic species database. Gainesville, Florida. Available via http://nas.er.usgs.gov/. Accessed 12 January 2015
CITATION INFORMATION
Gregoire-Lucente, D.R. and P.J. Schofield. 2016. Fish Slam 2015.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.