Quiet Invasion: 2020 Invasive Species Update Lisa Gonzalez Invasive Species: The Continuing Problem • New species being reported • Invasive species management is multi‐ faceted and long‐term • Few eradication success stories Policy Research Management Education & & Awareness Restoration What We Know Common Characteristics Impacts • fast seed germination • nutrient cycling • high population growth • local hydrology • early reproductive maturity • fire regimes • reproduction vegetatively as well as sexually • geomorphological processes (such as dune formation or stream profile) • generalized pollination • species and structural diversity • wide tolerance to many habitat types • disease • adaptation to disturbance • impacts available wildlife resources • high rate of biomass accumulation • prevents recruitment of native species due to • long‐range seed dispersal capabilities competition for light, nutrients, and/or moisture • fruit used by wildlife (including humans) • economic losses and costs • relative lack of predators or diseases in • sense of place and quality of life present location Pathways of Introduction • Landscaping and horticulture • Mowing equipment and soils • Shipping materials • Aquarium trade and aquarists • Shipping and boating • Agriculture and livestock • Internet sales • Live seafood markets, bait • Biological control • Scientific research institutions, public aquaria, zoos, arboreta, wildlife preserves Longstanding Invaders • Giant reed Arundo donax • Yellow bluestem Bothriochloa ischaemum • Japanese honeysuckle Lonicera japonica Longstanding Invaders • Chinaberry Melia azedarach • Common water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes And of course… Chinese tallow Triadica sebifera AIR POTATO ‐ Dioscorea bulbifera • Yam family, native to Asia • Introduced in FL in early 1900s • Do not eat; toxic to humans • Vine that up to 60 feet in length, heart shaped alternating leaves • Growth = 8 inches per day • Ecological impacts: smothers trees and native vegetation, can impact hydrologic and fire regimes • Bio Control: Florida releasing air potato beetles GIANT HOGWEED ‐ Heracleum mantegazzianum • Introduced from Eurasia c. 1917 as an ornamental plant; carrot family • 15 to 20 feet tall with dark reddish‐purple stems and spotted leaf stalks; flower can grow to 2 ½ ft in diameter. • Large elliptic, dry fruits; flowers June – July with 1500 seeds per head • Sap makes skin sensitive to UV light; can lead to burn or blistering after exposure to sun • Outcompetes native species; can lead to erosion in riparian areas EMERALD ASH BORER ‐ Agrilus planipennis • Hitchhiked on lumber products from Asia in 1990s • First observed in MI in 2002; reported in TX in 2016 at Caddo Lake (Harrison County) and now Cass, Marion, and Tarrant counties) • Adult is dark metallic green, ½ inch long; larvae are up to 1 inch in length, cream colored with bell shaped segments • Occurs in trees of agricultural areas, forests, and urban areas; all ash tree species at risk • Larvae tunnel into and feed on tree tissue (phloem and outer sapwood) – kills tree; adult beetles consume the leaves CACTUS MOTH ‐ Cactoblastis cactorum • From South America; used for cactus control in Australia, Hawaii, Caribbean… • In Florida in late 1980s; moved westward • Reported in Brazoria County in 2018, now found in Calhoun, Colorado, and Matagorda counties • Feed on prickly pear cacti of the genus Opuntia; impacts wildlife that require this species for food and shelter • Females lay eggs in stick‐like formation; larvae hatch and bore into the cactus pad http://texasento.net/ CUBAN TREE FROG ‐ Osteopilus septentrionalis • Reported in Miami in 1950s • First Texas report in fall 2017 by Bill Bass in The Woodlands • 1‐4 inches in length; max 6 inches • May be tan, gray, brown, or olive green, and there may or may not be a pattern present • Larger toepads and wartier skin than native treefrog species • Primarily nocturnal; call sounds like a rusty hinge • Found primarily in trees; breed in warm weather in canals, and small ponds • Competes with and preys upon smaller, native treefrogs and other amphibians • Noxious skin secretions can make it unpalatable to predators • Contact for identification: [email protected] or [email protected] ASIAN JUMPING WORMS – Amynthas spp., Metaphire spp. • Discovered in Wisconsin in 2013, now in Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Oregon • Smooth, often milky white clitellum (band near the head of the worm) • 1.5 to 8 inches in length • Jump and thrash when handled, can also shed their tails in defense • Most European earthworm species move about 30 feet per year, jumping worms can range up to 17 acres • Found on the soil surface and especially in leaf litter; jumping worms can eliminate up to 95% of leaf litter • Leave distinctive worm castings, soil looks granular, like dried coffee grounds • Broader impacts to forests and bird populations remain unknown • Possible pathways: bait and infested soil, compost, mulch Map Source: Oregon State University LG1 LG2 Tawny (Rasberry) Crazy Ant ‐ Nylanderia fulva • Native to South America, specifically southern Brazil and northern Argentina • Found in FL in 1950s • Reported in Houston in 2002 • Quick and erratic movements • Omnivorous, golden‐brown to reddish‐ brown ant • Nests occur in leaf litter, soil, rotten logs, under potted plants, and along underground electrical conduits • Displace other ant species, harm livestock, urban pest TX Invasive Species Institute, 2013 ZEBRA MUSSEL ‐ Dreissena polymorpha • From Eurasia, first reported in Great Lakes in late 1980s • Found in Lake Texoma in 2009; in Lake Livingston in 2017; 19 infested reservoirs 100th meridian • Threatens native mollusks; clogs water infrastructure • Warm temperature and calcium concentrations though to limit range/population size • Prevention and early detection: TX requires draining of water from all boats in freshwater Invasives on the Move and in the News Alluaud’s little yellow ant (Madagascar) Asian giant hornet (East Asia and Japan) Plagiolepis alluaudi Vespa mandarinia Climate & Invasives • Speciation can take millennia • Occurs through natural selection and genetic drift sometimes aided by geographic separation • Climate influences speciation – Example: high biodiversity in tropics Populations – With change, species adapt or move to exploit new areas • Biological invasions and climate change have occurred throughout geologic time Populations • BUT the extreme rate of change and scale of parallel occurrence is new National Climate Assessment 4 ‐ Rainfall Observed Changes in Average Precipitation; Projected Precipitation Change by Season 1991‐2012 (compared to 1901‐1960) 2071‐2099 (compared to 1970‐1999) National Climate Assessment 4 ‐ Temperature Projected Changes in U.S. Annual Average Temperatures Projected Increase in Number of Days Above 100ºF (2036–2065; top) and end of century (2071–2100; bottom) (2070–2099 compared to 1976–2005) Impacts of Climate • Changes in temperature and precipitation – Geographic ranges of species – northward and higher elevations – Extended growth season, winter survival – Native habitat stress, invasion vulnerability Gray snapper Lutjanus griseus – Changing hydrological and fire regimes • Species distribution via extreme events, new trade routes, climate refugees • Increases in CO2 (?) Bottom line: Species that can adapt quickly Black mangrove Avicennia germinans will likely do well Tools: The Quiet Invasion: GalvBayInvasives.org Filtered or Keyword Search GalvBayInvasives.org Map by Watershed GalvBayInvasives.org Tools: USGS Flood and Storm Tracker (FaST) https://nas.er.usgs.gov/viewer/Flooding/Harvey.aspx Continue To Be Involved • Hans Landel and Monica McGarrity are recruiting volunteers from Master Naturalists to survey local aquarium stores – What species are being sold? – All species of interest except tilapia are legal to sell – [email protected] [email protected] • TexasInvasives.org • Texas Invasive Species Institute @SHSU • iNaturalist • EDD MapS • USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database • MS State Cactus Moth Sentinel Network HARCresearch.org HARC (härk), n. an independent research hub helping people thrive and nature flourish..