Quiet Invasion: 2020 Invasive Species Update - Lisa Gonzalez - Texas Master ...

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: Hlandel@wildflower.org or
  Monica.Mcgarrity@tpwd.texas.gov

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 (?)
                                                           Black mangrove Avicennia germinans
   Bottom line: Species that can adapt quickly
                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
   – Hlandel@wildflower.org Monica.Mcgarrity@tpwd.texas.gov
• TexasInvasives.org
• Texas Invasive Species Institute @SHSU
• iNaturalist
• EDD MapS
• USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
• MS State Cactus Moth Sentinel Network

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