Invasive Animals

Six species of biting mosquitoes have been introduced to the Hawaiian Islands since Western contact, two of which are vectors of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses. Environmental conditions favorable for the transmission of dengue and Zika occur year-long across Hawai‘i’s coastline. To better understand the ecology of vector mosquitoes and support public health efforts, mosquito monitoring at...

The result of this technical assistance is critical to developing a lamprey pheromone as a tool to control lamprey populations in the Great Lakes. If lamprey populations are left uncontrolled, the effects lamprey would have on the fishery industry in the Great Lakes would be devastating.

The results of this research may lead to a more efficient use of the lampricides used to control lamprey populations in the Great Lakes. If lamprey populations are left uncontrolled, the effects on commercial and sport fisheries in the Great Lakes would be devastating. The treatment of sea lamprey spawning tributaries with mixtures of the piscicides 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) and 2'5'...

The USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) provides regulatory affairs assistance to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), state and private partners in matters regarding numerous registrations of the lampricides TFM and niclosamide in the U.S. and Canada. The result of this technical...

Concerns regarding the exposure of wildlife to TFM and niclosamide that would result from the consumption of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) larvae exposed to these chemicals has prompted a need to investigate uptake of these chemicals in larval lampreys. A study to address concerns regarding the exposure of the endangered common term during the treatment of the St. Marys River was completed in...

Sea lampreys are a species that invaded the Great Lakes presumably following the improvements made to the Welland Canal in 1920. First reported in Lake Erie in 1921, sea lampreys subsequently spread rapidly to the upper Great Lakes and had an established spawning population in all of the upper Great Lakes by 1947 (Applegate 1950). Following their introduction, sea lamprey devastated the commercial...

Zebra and quagga mussels were first introduced into the Great Lakes in the 1980’s and they have since expanded to over 750 inland lakes in addition to the 5 Great Lakes (http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/Nonindigenous_Species/Zebra_mussel_distribution/zebra_mussel_distribution.html, accessed 8/5/2015). A 2009 study conducted by the Idaho Aquatic Nuisance Species Taskforce estimated the annual economic...

A dead-cell, spray-dried powder formulation of Pseudomonas fluorescens, strain CL145A was recently approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for control of dreissenid mussels (zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha and quagga mussel, Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) in open-water environments. The EPA approved product, Zequanox® (registration number 84059-15) is manufactured by Marrone...

Zebra mussels (Dreissenia polymorpha) are native to the Black, Caspian, and Aral Seas of eastern Europe (Gollasch and Leppäkoski 1999) and they were likely introduced into Lake Erie as veliger larvae in the summer or fall of 1985 (Hebert et al. 1989). Their high reproductive capacity and planktonic larval stage enable zebra mussels to rapidly disperse (Birnbaum 2011). Less than 10 years after...

Control technology for dreissenid mussels currently relies heavily on chemical molluscicides that can be both costly and ecologically harmful. There is a need to develop more environmentally neutral control tools to manage dreissenid mussels. Carbon dioxide has shown toxicity to several species of invasive bivalves, including zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) and the Asian clam (Corbicula...

With the increasing prevalence of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) in the Chicago Area Waterways System (CAWS), the implementation of new control techniques to inhibit the dispersal of AIS is strongly desired. For a technique to be a truly viable option, the process would inhibit the movement of AIS between the Mississippi River Basin and the Great Lakes. A physical barrier separating these regions...

Invasive fishes are of considerable concern to aquatic resource managers. For example, the common carp (Cyprinus carpio), originally brought over from Eurasia sometime in the 1800s are now ubiquitous in U.S. waters. Although they have been around for over 100 years and have become part of U.S. culture, they are still highly detrimental to aquatic ecosystems and a method to eradicate and control of...