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Aquatic Weed Identification and Biology

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AquaticAquatic WeedWeed IdentifiIdentifi caca tiontion andand BiologyBiology JohnJohn RoncoroniRoncoroni UCCEUCCE WeedWeed ScienceScience Advisor,Advisor, NapaNapa PondPond WorkshopWorkshop && MaintenanceMaintenance JanuaryJanuary 29th,29th, 20102010 CatheyCathey ’’ss ValleyValley Algae From C. A. Lembi 1997 Microscopic or Planktonic Algae Microscopic or Planktonic Algae ØØNotNot reallyreally algae,algae, actuallyactually bacteria.bacteria. ØØMicroscopicMicroscopic algae:algae: Anabaen,Anabaen, Aphanizomenon,Aphanizomenon, andand MicrocystisMicrocystis ØØAKAAKA ‘‘Annie,Annie, FannyFanny andand Mike.Mike. ’’ ØØProduceProduce toxins,toxins, butbut poisoningspoisonings rare.rare. Algae Bloom Algae Bloom ØØBloomBloom causedcaused byby warmwarm waterwater andand nutrientnutrient introductionintroduction ØØ‘‘FishFish KillsKills ’’ occuroccur duringduring respirationrespiration oror whenwhen algaealgae diedie -- oxygenoxygen depletion.depletion. FilamentousFilamentous AlgaeAlgae -- FloatingFloating MatsMats FilamentousFilamentous AlgaeAlgae -- FloatingFloating MatsMats ØØOftenOften incorrectlyincorrectly calledcalled ‘‘mossmoss ’’ ØØGrowthGrowth usuallyusually startsstarts onon edgesedges andand bottomsbottoms ofof pondpond inin springspring FilamentousFilamentous AlgaeAlgae -- FloatingFloating MatsMats ØØOftenOften incorrectlyincorrectly calledcalled ‘‘mossmoss ’’ ØØGrowthGrowth usuallyusually startsstarts onon edgesedges andand bottomsbottoms ofof pondpond inin springspring ØØSegmentsSegments areare singlesingle cells.cells. ØØCommonCommon Species:Species: Cladophora,Cladophora, RhizocloniumRhizoclonium SubmersedSubmersed AlgaeAlgae CharaChara --stonewortstonewort CharaChara --stonewortstonewort ØØ UsuallyUsually growsgrows inin veryvery hardhard waterwater ØØ OftenOften confusedconfused withwith floweringflowering plantplant ØØ RoughRough feelfeel andand distinctivedistinctive muskymusky smellsmell ØØ WhereWhere itit isis lowlow growinggrowing itit isis volublevoluble habitathabitat forfor fishfish NitellaNitella ØØ NativeNative -- veryvery similarsimilar toto CharaChara ØØ NoNo roughrough feelfeel Types of Aquatic Plants Free-floating plants Each of the four types of aquatic plants favors a certain water depth. Typically the growth areas are not sharply divided. Expect to see overlap in growthgrowth--------submergedsubmerged plants interspersed among floatingfloating----leafleaf varieties. Pacific mosquitofern Azolla filiculoides Pacific mosquitofern Azolla filiculoides ØØ FernFern -- reproducesreproduces byby sporesspores andand stemstem fragmentsfragments ØØ DesirableDesirable nativenative speciesspecies inin naturalnatural habitathabitat ØØ OftenOften growgrow inin eutrophiceutrophic waterwater -- ØØ StillStill soldsold inin aquariumaquarium tradetrade -- carelesscareless disposaldisposal ofof waterwater maymay introduceintroduce intointo newnew areas.areas. Common duckweed Lemna minor Common duckweed ØØVeryVery smallsmall floatingfloating perennialperennial nativenative ØØInIn highhigh fertilityfertility sitesite cancan doubledouble inin numbernumber everyevery 33 daysdays ØØReproducesReproduces byby buddingbudding (daughter(daughter plant)plant) ØØOneOne rootroot perper frondfrond Water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes airbladder Water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes ØØNoxiousNoxious floatingfloating perennialperennial introducedintroduced fromfrom BrazilBrazil ØØFloatingFloating matsmats connectedconnected byby stolonsstolons clogclog waterwater waysways ØØHeavyHeavy infestationsinfestations cancan alteralter waterwater oxygenoxygen content,content, temperature,temperature, pH,pH, andand displacedisplace nativenative plantsplants andand wildlife.wildlife. Water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes ØØLinkedLinked toto otherother plantsplants byby stolonsstolons ØØFrostFrost maymay killkill foliage,foliage, butbut stemstem basesbases oftenoften survivesurvive andand developdevelop newnew foliagefoliage inin Spring.Spring. ØØReproducesReproduces byby stolonstolon oror seed.seed. HoneyHoney beesbees areare mainmain pollinatorspollinators ØØInsectInsect biocontrolbiocontrol (2(2 weevils,weevils, 11 moth)moth) havehave beenbeen ineffectiveineffective Smooth frogbit or West Indian spongeplant (Limnobium laevigatum ) Smooth frogbit or West Indian spongeplant (Limnobium laevigatum ) ØØ HydrocharitaceaeHydrocharitaceae --SameSame familyfamily asas HydrillaHydrilla ØØ NativeNative toto CentralCentral andand SouthSouth AmericaAmerica ØØ FirstFirst infestationinfestation inin ReddingRedding (2002).(2002). FoundFound inin 20072007 inin scatteredscattered patchespatches alongalong 1010 --1515 milesmiles ofof thethe SanSan JoaquinJoaquin RiverRiver inin Fresno.Fresno. ØØ LaterLater itit appearedappeared inin thethe SacramentoSacramento DeltaDelta andand ØØ nearnear thethe KingsKings RiverRiver southeastsoutheast ofof Fresno.Fresno. Smooth frogbit or West Indian spongeplant (Limnobium laevigatum ) FloatingFloating toto rootedrooted stoloniferousstoloniferous perennial.perennial. VeryVery differentdifferent fromfrom hydrillahydrilla andand BrazilianBrazilian egeriaegeria -- resemblesresembles aa smallersmaller versionversion ofof waterwater hyacinthhyacinth .. TheThe bottombottom ofof itsits leavesleaves havehave aa diagnosticdiagnostic honeycombhoneycomb --likelike spongyspongy tissuetissue . Placed on CDFA Noxious Weed Q-list JuvenileJuvenile formform ofof partlypartly submersedsubmersed rosettesrosettes withwith thickthick floatingfloating leavesleaves developdevelop intointo muchmuch largerlarger maturemature clumpsclumps New location Types of Aquatic Plants Submersed plants PondweedsPondweeds ØØ AllAll PotamogetonPotamogeton andand StuckeniaStuckenia speciesspecies areare nativenative toto thethe WesternWestern US,US, exceptexcept PotamogetonPotamogeton crispuscrispus --curlyleafcurlyleaf pondweedpondweed (Eurasia)(Eurasia) ØØ ImportantImportant componentscomponents ofof wildlandwildland aquaticaquatic habitatshabitats -- ØØ PerennialsPerennials --mostmost withwith rhizomesrhizomes ØØ CurlyleafCurlyleaf producesproduces turionsturions andand SagoSago producesproduces tuberstubers Sago pondweed Stuckenia pectinatus Seasonal Development of Sago Pondweed After Kautsky, 1987 JAFMMJJASOND Curlyleaf pondweed Potamogeton crispus Leafy pondweed Potamogeton foliosus Floatleaf pondweed Potamogeton natans American Pondweed Potamogeton nodosus Coontail,Coontail, ParrotfeatherParrotfeather andand MilfoilsMilfoils Coontail Ceratophyllum demersum Coontail Ceratophyllum demersum ØØNativeNative --annualannual toto perennialperennial ØØCrossCross sectionsection -- leavesleaves looklook likelike ““bumpybumpy tuningtuning forkfork ”” ØØModifiedModified stemstem --notnot rootsroots lightlylightly holdhold plantplant -- easilyeasily dislodgeddislodged Parrotfeather Myriophyllum aquaticum Parrotfeather Myriophyllum aquaticum ØØ NoxiousNoxious perennialperennial introducedintroduced fromfrom SouthSouth AmericaAmerica inin latelate 18001800 ’’ss ØØ EmersedEmersed plant,plant, cancan becomebecome semisemi -- terrestrialterrestrial ØØ TypicallyTypically onlyonly femalefemale plantsplants foundfound inin Calif.Calif. ØØ ReproducesReproduces vegetativelyvegetatively onlyonly -- byby rhizomerhizome andand stemstem fragmentsfragments Western watermilfoil Myriophyllum hippuroides Ø An uncommon native species Ø not considered weedy ØØUnlikeUnlike otherother milfoilmilfoil ’’ss emergesemerges fromfrom waterwater Eurasian watermilfoil Myriophyllum spicatum Eurasian watermilfoil Myriophyllum spicatum ØØNoxiousNoxious perennialperennial propagatedpropagated byby rhizomes,rhizomes, axillaryaxillary budsbuds andand seeds.seeds. ØØSeedsSeeds cancan survivesurvive dormantdormant forfor 77 yearsyears underunder drydry conditionsconditions andand areare eateneaten andand spreadspread byby birds.birds. ØØIntroducedIntroduced fromfrom Eurasia,Eurasia, probablyprobably latelate 19401940 ’’ss inin aquariumaquarium trade.trade. Northern watermilfoil Myriophyllum sibiricum Northern watermilfoil Myriophyllum sibiricum ØØ WidespreadWidespread nativenative ØØ ProducesProduces turionsturions --EWMEWM doesdoes notnot ØØ LooksLooks veryvery similarsimilar toto EWMEWM -- leafleaf lobeslobes differentdifferent -- Northern Watermilfoil Eurasian Watermilfoil More than 10 pairs of leaves Elodea,Elodea, Egeria,Egeria, HydrillaHydrilla Elodea,Elodea, Egeria,Egeria, HydrillaHydrilla ØØ AllAll areare perennialperennial andand reproducereproduce vegetativelyvegetatively ØØ CommonCommon ElodeaElodea -- NativeNative toto NA;NA; importantimportant toto habitathabitat --rarleyrarley aa problemproblem --highhigh PP-- ØØ BrazilianBrazilian EgeriaEgeria -- onlyonly malemale plantsplants inin US.US. StillStill soldsold forfor aquariumaquarium use.use. CanCan becomebecome problemproblem whenwhen heavyheavy infestation.infestation. HasHas largelarge flowerflower ØØ HydrillaHydrilla --NoxiousNoxious --reproducesreproduces byby stolon,stolon, stemstem fragments,turionsfragments,turions andand tuberstubers -- tuberstubers cancan lastlast upup toto 55 years.years. VeryVery aggressiveaggressive Hydrilla Egeria Elodea Common Elodea Elodea canadensis Brazilian Egeria Egeria densa Hydrilla-Hydrilla verticillata Hydrilla Egeria Elodea SouthernSouthern NaiadNaiad SouthernSouthern NaiadNaiad •Same Family as Hydrilla, Egaria, and Elodia •Annual- Spreads primarily by seed •Seeds and foliage important food source for Birds •Not usually considered a weed in natural habitat •Will tolerate polluted water Types of Aquatic Plants
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  • Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes (Mart.) Solms)

    Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes (Mart.) Solms)

    Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms) Gray Turnage, M.S., Research Associate III, Mississippi State University Problems: Forms dense mats of floating vegetation (Figure 1) that inhibit growth of native plant species and reduce the water quality of habitat utilized by aquatic fauna. Mats can also inhibit recreational uses of waterbodies, commercial navigation, hydro power generation, clog irrigation pumps, and worsen flood events. Water hyacinth is often called “the world’s worst aquatic weed” due to its presence on every continent (except Antarctica) and its rapid growth rate. Regulations: None in MS. Description: Water hyacinth a free-floating, perennial plant that is often confused with the native American frogbit. The primary characteristic used to distinguish hyacinth from frogbit is the presence of a ‘bulbous’ structure at the base of the hyacinth leaves. Hyacinth can grow to approximately a meter in height (referred to as ‘bull hyacinth’ at this stage) and produces large, showy, purple flowers throughout the growing season (Figure 1). Dispersal: A popular water-gardening plant, water hyacinth is native to South America but has been found throughout many states in the U.S. and is very common in MS (Figure 2; Turnage and Shoemaker 2018; Turnage et al. 2019). Water hyacinth primarily spreads through daughter plants and seeds (Figure 2). Each rosette is capable of producing multiple daughter plants per growing season. In optimal growing conditions, water hyacinth can double in biomass in 5-6 days. Control Strategies: Physical-summer drawdown may control water hyacinth but will likely cause negative impacts to fish populations. Mechanical-hand removal of small patches and individual rosettes may be effective; mechanical mowers can provide short term relief but usually cause further spread through plant fragmentation.