In November 2018, USGS researchers joined partners in South Florida where they sampled freshwater bodies for non-native fishes. The bi-annual Fish Slam event helps monitor new introductions and document range expansion of known non-native fishes.
November 7 – 8, 2018 – Thirty-one fishery biologists from twelve agencies participated in a two-day Fish Slam event during which 22 sites in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties (Florida) were sampled for non-native fishes. Sampling gear included electrofishing boats, backpack electrofisher, minnow traps, cast nets, seines, bow fishing, dipnets, and hook and line. Twenty-three species of non-native fishes were collected or observed. This is the seventh Fish Slam event since the program began in 2013. For general information on Fish Slam events, please see the webpage for the Florida Non-native Fish Action Alliance.
No new non-native species or range expansions were detected; however, a large common carp Cyprinus carpio was collected. This species is widespread throughout most of the USA, but rare in the waters of south Florida. We had previously eradicated bay snook, Petenia splendida, from Pinecrest Gardens in south Miami, and a re-check of that location confirmed there were no specimens in the gardens.
Fish Slam events link research institutions such as museums and universities with agencies that possess expertise and field equipment to collect non-native fishes, providing unique access to specimens for these institutions. This year, representatives from the Florida Museum, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science participated. Non-native fishes were tissue sampled for DNA collections, and then preserved. Some specimens were frozen and later processed for skeletal collections.
Dr. Eric Hilton describes the process of taking a specimen from the point of being collected in the field to becoming a skeleton. It involves dissecting the fish by removing and separating the bones of the gill arches as a unit and cleaning as much of the tissue off from the bones as possible (top image), air drying the specimen (middle), and placing it in a colony of dermestid beetles (bottom image). Once the specimen has been cleaned by the beetles and their larvae, the bones will be removed and cleaned in a weak ammonia solution, rinsed, and dried. The bones are then stored in boxes to await study. The skeletons of fishes reflect aspects of their ecology and evolution, and are studied by ichthyologists to better understand the diversity of fishes. Data from these collections are available in publicly accessible databases, such as the VIMS Nunally Ichthyology Collection and the Florida Museum Ichthyology Collection.
Native species, along with two non-native species (grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella and butterfly peacock bass, Cichla ocellaris), were returned to the wild alive. All field observations of non-native species were entered into the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.
The participants of the November 2018 Fish Slam were: Jesse Blanchard (FIU), Mary Brown (USGS), Wes Daniel (USGS), Andre Daniels (USGS), Cedric Doolittle (USFWS), Allison Durland Donahue (UF), Deb Epperson (USGS), Bryan Falk (NPS), Kenton Finkbeiner (Miccosukee Tribe), John Galvez (USFWS), Kelly Gestring (FWC), Lee Grove (FWC), Daniel Hagood (Miccosukee Tribe), Eric Hilton (VIMS), Howard Jelks (USGS), Jeff Kline (NPS), Kaitlin Kovacs (USGS), Lauren Lapham (UF), Mary McMurphy (NPS), Cayla Morningstar (CNT), Jon Moore (FAU/Yale), Mark Pepper (NPS), Yunelis Perez (Miccosukee Tribe), Ian Pfingsten (CNT), Justin Procopio (CNT), Kristen Reaver (CNT), Rob Robins (FM), Pam Schofield (USGS), Murray Stanford (FWC), Sy TerAvest (UT); Vanessa Trujillo (Deering Estate), Raul Urgelles (NPS), and Josh Wilsey (FWC).
Institutional acronyms: CNT – Cherokee Nation Technologies; FAU- Florida Atlantic University; FIU – Florida International University; FM – Florida Museum; FWC – Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; NPS – National Park Service; UF – University of Florida; USFWS – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; USGS – U.S. Geological Survey; UT- University of Tampa; VIMS - Virginia Institute of Marine Science
We are grateful to our professional colleagues who volunteered to make our Fish Slam successful. Special thanks to Barron Moody (FWC) for assistance with permits for this sampling event.
Scientific Name | Common Name |
---|---|
Ctenopharyngodon idella | grass carp |
Cyprinus carpio | common carp |
Hoplosternum littorale | brown hoplo |
Hypostomus plecostomus | suckermouth catfish |
Pterygoplichthys spp. | sailfin catfish |
Clarias batrachus | walking catfish |
Belonesox belizanus | pike killifish |
Monopterus sp. | Asian swamp eel |
Macrognathus siamensis | spotfin spiny eel |
Amphilophus citrinellus | Midas cichlid |
Astatotilapia calliptera | Eastern happy |
Astronotus ocellatus | oscar |
Cichla ocellaris | butterfly peacock bass |
Cichlasoma bimaculatum | black acara |
Cichlasoma urophthalmus | Mayan cichlid |
Hemichromis letourneuxi | African jewelfish |
Oreochromis sp. | tilapia |
Oreochromis aureus | blue tilapia |
Parachromis managuensis | jaguar guapote |
Tilapia buttikoferi | hornet tilapia |
Tilapia mariae | spotted tilapia |
Trichromis salvini | yellowbelly cichlid |
Channa marulius | bullseye snakehead |
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Florida Non-Native Fish Action Alliance
Fish Slam - November 2017
Spring Fish Slam 2017 – Big Cypress
Fish Slam - Fall 2016
Fish Slam - Spring 2016
Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Program
Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database and Website (NAS)
Fish Slam 2015
Fish Slam 2014
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Below are news stories associated with this project.
Below are partners associated with this project.
- Overview
In November 2018, USGS researchers joined partners in South Florida where they sampled freshwater bodies for non-native fishes. The bi-annual Fish Slam event helps monitor new introductions and document range expansion of known non-native fishes.
Common carp, Cyprinus carpio November 7 – 8, 2018 – Thirty-one fishery biologists from twelve agencies participated in a two-day Fish Slam event during which 22 sites in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties (Florida) were sampled for non-native fishes. Sampling gear included electrofishing boats, backpack electrofisher, minnow traps, cast nets, seines, bow fishing, dipnets, and hook and line. Twenty-three species of non-native fishes were collected or observed. This is the seventh Fish Slam event since the program began in 2013. For general information on Fish Slam events, please see the webpage for the Florida Non-native Fish Action Alliance.
No new non-native species or range expansions were detected; however, a large common carp Cyprinus carpio was collected. This species is widespread throughout most of the USA, but rare in the waters of south Florida. We had previously eradicated bay snook, Petenia splendida, from Pinecrest Gardens in south Miami, and a re-check of that location confirmed there were no specimens in the gardens.
Rob Robins (Florida Museum), Dr. Jon Moore (FAU/Yale Peabody), and Dr. Eric Hilton (VIMS) preparing specimens collected during Fish Slam 2018 Fish Slam events link research institutions such as museums and universities with agencies that possess expertise and field equipment to collect non-native fishes, providing unique access to specimens for these institutions. This year, representatives from the Florida Museum, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science participated. Non-native fishes were tissue sampled for DNA collections, and then preserved. Some specimens were frozen and later processed for skeletal collections.
Dr. Eric Hilton describes the process of taking a specimen from the point of being collected in the field to becoming a skeleton. It involves dissecting the fish by removing and separating the bones of the gill arches as a unit and cleaning as much of the tissue off from the bones as possible (top image), air drying the specimen (middle), and placing it in a colony of dermestid beetles (bottom image). Once the specimen has been cleaned by the beetles and their larvae, the bones will be removed and cleaned in a weak ammonia solution, rinsed, and dried. The bones are then stored in boxes to await study. The skeletons of fishes reflect aspects of their ecology and evolution, and are studied by ichthyologists to better understand the diversity of fishes. Data from these collections are available in publicly accessible databases, such as the VIMS Nunally Ichthyology Collection and the Florida Museum Ichthyology Collection.
Fish specimens collected and processed for skeletal collections Native species, along with two non-native species (grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella and butterfly peacock bass, Cichla ocellaris), were returned to the wild alive. All field observations of non-native species were entered into the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.
The participants of the November 2018 Fish Slam were: Jesse Blanchard (FIU), Mary Brown (USGS), Wes Daniel (USGS), Andre Daniels (USGS), Cedric Doolittle (USFWS), Allison Durland Donahue (UF), Deb Epperson (USGS), Bryan Falk (NPS), Kenton Finkbeiner (Miccosukee Tribe), John Galvez (USFWS), Kelly Gestring (FWC), Lee Grove (FWC), Daniel Hagood (Miccosukee Tribe), Eric Hilton (VIMS), Howard Jelks (USGS), Jeff Kline (NPS), Kaitlin Kovacs (USGS), Lauren Lapham (UF), Mary McMurphy (NPS), Cayla Morningstar (CNT), Jon Moore (FAU/Yale), Mark Pepper (NPS), Yunelis Perez (Miccosukee Tribe), Ian Pfingsten (CNT), Justin Procopio (CNT), Kristen Reaver (CNT), Rob Robins (FM), Pam Schofield (USGS), Murray Stanford (FWC), Sy TerAvest (UT); Vanessa Trujillo (Deering Estate), Raul Urgelles (NPS), and Josh Wilsey (FWC).
Institutional acronyms: CNT – Cherokee Nation Technologies; FAU- Florida Atlantic University; FIU – Florida International University; FM – Florida Museum; FWC – Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; NPS – National Park Service; UF – University of Florida; USFWS – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; USGS – U.S. Geological Survey; UT- University of Tampa; VIMS - Virginia Institute of Marine Science
We are grateful to our professional colleagues who volunteered to make our Fish Slam successful. Special thanks to Barron Moody (FWC) for assistance with permits for this sampling event.
Non-native Fishes Collected or Observed during Fish Slam November 2018 Scientific Name Common Name Ctenopharyngodon idella grass carp Cyprinus carpio common carp Hoplosternum littorale brown hoplo Hypostomus plecostomus suckermouth catfish Pterygoplichthys spp. sailfin catfish Clarias batrachus walking catfish Belonesox belizanus pike killifish Monopterus sp. Asian swamp eel Macrognathus siamensis spotfin spiny eel Amphilophus citrinellus Midas cichlid Astatotilapia calliptera Eastern happy Astronotus ocellatus oscar Cichla ocellaris butterfly peacock bass Cichlasoma bimaculatum black acara Cichlasoma urophthalmus Mayan cichlid Hemichromis letourneuxi African jewelfish Oreochromis sp. tilapia Oreochromis aureus blue tilapia Parachromis managuensis jaguar guapote Tilapia buttikoferi hornet tilapia Tilapia mariae spotted tilapia Trichromis salvini yellowbelly cichlid Channa marulius bullseye snakehead Participants of the November 2018 Fish Slam - Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
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 - 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.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.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...Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database and Website (NAS)
Nonindigenous - non-native - species threaten biodiversity, but the distribution of these species is not well-known. The Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) database tracks occurrence data on non-native aquatic plant and animal species throughout the United States, and provides the public with species profiles, distribution maps, and online/real-time queries for state/hydrologic basin- specific...Fish Slam 2015
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.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. - Multimedia
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
- News
Below are news stories associated with this project.
- Partners
Below are partners associated with this project.