Invasive Animals

The introduction of non-native fishes is a problem across the United States, particularly in Florida. USGS scientists are developing a decision support tool to help natural resourece managers prioritize which species to focus prevention, detection, rapid response, and control efforts.

The Ecology Section examines how environmental variability, human activities and infrastructure influence food web interactions and species performance in freshwater and marine ecosystems. We have extensive experience in quantifying aquatic food web processes as they relate to growth, survival and production of key species of interest, especially resident and anadromous salmonids.

Many species are studied at the Western Fisheries Research Center. These species include bacteria, birds, fish, invertebrates, parasites, plants, and viruses. The list contains both common and scientific names, and where each are being studied on the WFRC landscape.

As part of an ongoing project funded by the Bureau of Reclamation and lead by the Idaho Water Sciences Center (IDWSC) and Northern Rocky Mountain Research Center (NOROCK), the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) will analyze environmental DNA samples collected at gage stations directly downstream of multiple reservoirs throughout the Columbia River Basin. The goal of this project...

Introduced rats are notorious predators of birds and their nests worldwide, but especially on remote islands. Rats ( Rattus exulans) first arrived in Hawai‘i with Polynesian colonists about 1,000 years ago, resulting in deleterious consequences for native birds and ecosystems. Since Western contact in 1778, two additional rat species have become established in Hawai‘i, including the highly...

Hawai‘i's precipitation is greatest in upland areas that are typically forested. This precipitation provides water for both people and ecosystems. Precipitation can either run off and contribute to streamflow, or infiltrate into the ground and provide water for plants, base flow to streams, or recharge to aquifers. The exact routing that water takes is controlled by many factors, including the...

Red swamp crayfish ( Procambarus clarkii) and Rusty crayfish ( Faxonius rusticus) are invasive crayfish species in nearly all Great Lakes states (https://nas.er.usgs.gov/viewer/omap.aspx?SpeciesID=217). Both species are a concern in Michigan because they can displace native crayfish populations, their feeding behavior reduces habitat for amphibians, juvenile fish, invertebrates, and waterfowl...

This study will be conducted to provide information on the avoidance behavior of larval sea lampreys in response to the lampricides 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) and 2’,5-dichloro-4’-nitrosalicylanilide (niclosamide). The data generated will be used to evaluate the feasibility of developing a new lampricide formulation (Bayluscide® Solid Bar) for use in the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s...

Niclosamide (5-chloro-N-[2-chloro-4-nitrophenyl]-2-hydroxybenzamide; NIC) is the active ingredient in the 3.2% granular formulation of Bayluscide® (gB). is applied to assess populations of Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) larva that are too deep to electro fish or remove larva in habitats and too large to treat with liquid formulations of lampricides in a cost effective manner. Concerns regarding...

Invasion of dreissenid mussels (zebra and quagga mussels, Dreissena polymorpha and D. rostriformis bugensis, respectively) into the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins has resulted in estimated economic impacts as high as $1 billion annually for maintenance and repair of biofouled water conveyance systems and other infrastructures (Pimentel et al. 2005).

Feral pigs ( Sus scrofa) have been identified as a significant problem in 120 U.S. National Wildlife Refuges. Pigs cause substantial degradation to natural ecosystems through rooting, digging, and browsing, but they are particularly destructive in Hawai‘I, which has no native terrestrial large mammals.

The President's 2010 Budget provided $475 million for a new interagency Great Lakes restoration initiative, which targets the most significant problems in the region, including invasive aquatic species (like zebra and quagga mussels), non-point source pollution, and contaminated sediment. This initiative uses outcome-oriented performance goals and measures to target the most significant problems...