Invasive Aquatic Species with the Potential to Affect the Great

139 Pages·2010·6.47 MB·English

by  Tiffini Burlingame

Invasive Aquatic Species with the Potential
to Affect the
Great Sacandaga Lake Region

Tiffini M. Burlingame, Research Associate
Lawrence W. Eichler, Research Scientist
Charles W. Boylen, Associate Director
Darrin Fresh Water Institute
5060 Lakeshore Drive
Bolton Landing, NY 12814
TABLE OF CONTENTS

FISH

Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengu)s 3
Goldfish (Carassius auratus) 5
Northern Snakehead (Channa argus) 7
Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) 9
Eurasian Ruff (Gymnocephalus cernuus) 11
Brook Silverside (Labidesthes sicculus) 13
White Perch (Morone americana) 15
Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus) 17
Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) 19
Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) 21
White Crappie (Pomoxis annularis) 23
Tubenose Goby (Proterorhinus marmoratus) 25
Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) 27
European Rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) 29
Tench (Tinca tinca) 31

PLANTS & ALGAE

Ribbon Leaf Water Plantain (Alisma gramineum) 34
Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus) 36
Fanwort (Cabomba caroliniana) 38
Rock Snot (Didymosphenia geminata) 40
Brazilian Elodea (Egeria densa) 42
Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) 44
Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) 46
Frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae) 48
Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus) 50
Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) 52
Water Clover (Marsilea quadrifolia) 54
Parrot Feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum) 56
Variable Leaf Milfoil (Myriophyllum heterophyllum) 58
Eurasian Water Milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) 60
Southern Naiad (Najas guadalupensis) 62
Brittle Naiad (Najas minor) 64
Starry Stonewort (Nitellopsis obtusa) 66
Yellow Floating Heart (Nymphoides peltata) 68
Common Reed (Phragmites australis) 70
Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) 72
Curly Leaf Pond Weed (Potamogeton crispus) 74
Water Chestnut (Trapa natans) 76
Swollen Bladderwort (Utricularia inflata) 78
MOLLUSKS

Mud Bithynia (Bithynia tentaculata) 81
Chinese Mystery Snail (Cipangopaludina chinensis) 83
Asian Clam (Corbicula fluminea) 85
Quagga Mussel (Dreissena bugensis) 87
Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) 89
Piedmont Elimia Snail (Elimia virginica) 91
Wabash Pigtoe (Fusconaia flava) 93
Buffalo Pebblesnail (Gillia altilis) 95
Greater European Pea Clam (Pisidium amnicum) 97
European Ear Snail (Radix auricularia) 99
Atlantic Rangia (Rangia cuneata) 101
European Fingernail Clam (Sphaerium corneum) 103
European Stream Valvata (Valvata piscinalis) 105
Banded Mystery Snail (Viviparus georgianus) 107

ARTHROPODS
Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis) 110
Freshwater Shrimp (Gammarus fasciatus) 112
Asian Shore Crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus) 114
Rusty Crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) 116

ZOOPLANKTON
Spiny Waterflea (Bythotrephes longimanus) 119
Fish-hook Waterflea (Cercopagis pengoi) 121
Daphnia (Daphnia lumholtzi) 123
Eubosmina Waterflea (Eubosmina coregoni) 125
Calanoid Copepod (Eurytemora affinis) 127
Calanoid Copepod (Skistodiaptomus pallidus) 129

PATHOGENS AND PARASITES
Parasitic Copepod (Argulus japonicus) 132
Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia 134
Invasive Aquatic Species

Invasive aquatic species are exotic or non-native organisms living in, on or near water that have
the potential to alter habitats, outcompete native species and seriously interfere with recreational
and industrial water users. These species are often transported and introduced, either
intentionally or unintentionally, thru human activities, generally with disastrous consequences.
The following organisms are either currently present in Great Sacandaga Lake or present in the
Northeast region with the potential to reach Great Sacandaga Lake in the foreseeable future.
Preventing the introduction of these species is the only foolproof method to control their spread.
An educated population provides the most effective means to minimize the impact of invasive
species.
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Fish

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Alosa pseudoharengus
Alewife

Habitat:
Alewives are known to occupy all strata of a land-locked water body during the course of the
year. Alewives have been found to prefer rocky habitats to sand sites. This may be related to
their feeding on emerging insects associated with rocky areas. The majority of their time is spent
in the limnetic zone. In late spring and summer they move into littoral areas for spawning and
move into deeper water during fall. Alewives have a preference for warmer waters. Alwives
move in large schools and are attracted to light. They move into shallow areas at night and return
to deeper waters during the day.

Description:
Adult alewife is typically 10 to 12 inches in length (25 to 30 cm), with a green back and silvery
belly; they have a single black spot located behind the eye. Scales line up in a row along the
belly. The alewife is mostly a filter feeder, but has been known to be piscivorous, feeding on fry
as large as 50mm.

Principal Modes of Transport & Introduction:
It is believed that the illegal stocking of alewives for forage is what fist introduced them to
landlocked lakes. They may also be spread by fishermen using them as bait.

Annual Cycle:
Landlocked alewives move from deep water to shallow beaches in lakes or move up streams to
ponds to spawn in spring. Females usually move to the spawning areas just before the males.
Spawning takes place at night in groups of two or three over a sandy or gravelly bottom.
Freshwater females deposit 10,000-12,000 eggs. Eggs are broadcast randomly, are demersal (that
is, they sink), and are not particularly adhesive. Adults leave the spawning area after spawning;
no care is given eggs or young by the adult fish. In less than a week, the young alewives hatch to
begin feeding on minute, free-floating plants and animals. By fall, the young alewives make their
way back to the deep waters of lakes. Landlocked alewives reach an average length of about 6
inches when adults.
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Look Alike:
The blue-back herring (A. aestivalis) is a physically similar species, and it is difficult to
distinguish between the two. The only definable difference (alewife tend to have larger eyes, and
blueback herrings have more "compressed" bodies, but these are difficult to enumerate unless
directly comparing the two species in hand) is the color of the peritoneum in the two species. The
abdominal cavity in the blueback herring is much darker, almost black, whereas the alewife has a
paler abdominal cavity with some black spots.

Distribution:

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Carassius auratus
Goldfish

Habitat:
In the wild, goldfish can be found in slow-moving, freshwater bodies of water with cold water
and aquatic vegetation. As with their close relative the carp, they thrive in slightly sludgy water.
Able to withstand prolonged exposure to salinities above 15 ppt and can tolerate low levels of
dissolved oxygen.

Description:
Goldfish are small to moderately-sized fish with a deep body and rounded cross-section. They
have a large head and eyes with a small mouth and a forked tail. Scales are large and the single
dorsal fin has 3-4 stout spines at the leading edge. Color ranges from olive-bronze to deep golden
along dorsal surface, fading to silvery-white along the belly. May grow up to 41cm in length,
2kg in weight and live for 30 years in captivity.

Principal Modes of Transport & Introduction:
It is believed that most infestations are the result of people dumping aquariums or ornamental
ponds into the lakes.

Annual Cycle:
Spawning occurs in shallow water amongst weeds, and up to several hundred thousand small
eggs (1-2mm diameter) are laid at once. Individual fish can spawn 3-10 lots of eggs at intervals
of 8-10 days. Cold water during winter is essential for proper ova development.Eggs hatch in
around a week. Young attach to aquatic plants for several days while yolk sac is absorbed.

Look Alike:
Goldfish most closely resembles the Common Carp and Crucian Carp.

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Distribution:

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Channa argus
Northern Snakehead Fish

Habitat:
The Northern snakehead prefers stagnant shallow ponds or swamps with mud substrate and
aquatic vegetation; slow muddy streams. Also occurs in canals, reservoirs, lakes, and rivers. It
appears to occupy waters, usually with vegetation, close to shore, and also feeds in schools. The
northern snakehead has been reported to be an obligate air breather, which means that it can live
in oxygen-depleted waters by gulping air at the water's surface and survive several days out of
water if kept moist.

Description:
A long, thin fish with a single dorsal fin running the length of the fish. This species also has a
single long anal fin similar to our native species, the bowfin (Amia calva). Overall color is
brown with dark blotches. It has a somewhat flattened head with eyes located in a dorsolateral
position on the anterior part of the head; anterior nostrils are present and tubular; dorsal and anal
fins are elongated, and all fins are supported only by rays. The maximum size exceeds 85 cm.

Principal Modes of Transport & Introduction:
This fish is popular in the Asian food market and most introductions are likely released for this
purpose. The snakehead may move in stream and river networks, reproducing and spreading to
adjacent watersheds.

Annual Cycle:
This species reaches sexual maturity in 2 to 3 years at approximately 30-35 cm (12-14 inches) in
length. Females release 1,300 to 15,000 eggs per spawn, which can occur 1 to 5 times per year.
The floating eggs take 28 hours to hatch at 31oC, 45 hours at 25oC and much longer at cooler
temperatures. Larvae remain in a nest guarded by their parents until yolk absorption is complete
at approximately 8 mm in length. At approximately 18 mm the young begin feeding on small
crustaceans and fish larvae.

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