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.
Fish Slam - November 2017
Spring Fish Slam 2017 – Big Cypress
Florida Non-Native Fish Action Alliance
Fish Slam - Fall 2016
Fish Slam - Spring 2016
Impacts of Non-Native Fishes in the Florida Everglades
Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Program
Fish Slam 2014
- Overview
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.
Yellowbelly Cichlid, Trichromis salvini 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.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Fish Slam - November 2017
The Hunt For The Southernmost Snakehead. Thirty-one fishery biologists from eleven agencies participated in a two-day Fish Slam event. Thirty-five sites in Broward and Miami-Dade counties were sampled for non-native fishes.Spring Fish Slam 2017 – Big Cypress
22-23 March 2017 - Ten teams of fishery biologists sampled 28 sites amid unexpected wildfires in the Big Cypress National Preserve over the two day period. On the second day a reporter from the Miami Herald accompanied a ground crew team.Florida Non-Native Fish Action Alliance
The Florida Non-Native Fish Action Alliance brings together federal and state agencies, academic institutions, and non-governmental organizations to address the need for documenting and managing the non-native fishes introduced to the state's waters.Fish Slam - Fall 2016
November 1 - 2, 2016 – Eight teams of fishery biologists from the US Geological Survey (USGS), US Fish and Wildlife Service - Peninsular Florida Fisheries Office and Welaka National Fish Hatchery (USFWS), the National Park Service (NPS), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Florida International University (FIU), and Zoo Miami sampled 20 sites for non-native fishes in Palm...Fish Slam - Spring 2016
May 23, 2016 – Five teams of fishery biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the National Park Service (NPS), Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH), University of Florida (UF), and Florida International University (FIU) sampled 12 sites for non-native fishes in Broward and Miami-Dade counties in southeastern Florida.Impacts of Non-Native Fishes in the Florida Everglades
The Florida Everglades is the largest wetland ecosystem in the United States and supports a diverse flora and fauna, including many rare species.Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Program
Welcome to the Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) information resource for the United States Geological Survey. Located at Gainesville, Florida, this site has been established as a central repository for spatially referenced biogeographic accounts of introduced aquatic species. The program provides scientific reports, online/realtime queries, spatial data sets, distribution maps, and general...Fish Slam 2014
On November 20, 2014, eight 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), U.S. National Park Service (NPS), and Florida International University (FIU) gathered for a one-day sampling event to collect non-native fishes from canals, ponds and ditches in Miami-Dade County, FL. - News
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