Bugwood goes to the Aquatic Plant Management Society Meeting

This is the first year that we have attended this meeting and it is definitely one we would like to go back to!  Over 100 people attended the meeting and represented academia, non-profit organizations, state agencies, federal agencies, industry, and other institutions.  The presentations were very interesting and we learned at lot.  Topics covered included: control/management methods, biology/physiology, monitoring technology, partnerships and programs, and interesting research.

Bugwood presented on the last day, covering the EDDMapS website, South Eastern Early Detection smartphone application, and covered the new push alert system.  The push alert system will send out alerts to user's smartphones about news relevant to the region or species included in the application.  Presentations given by other attendees were equally as interesting.

Did you know that when a crested floating heart (Nymphoides cristata) leaf is damaged or cut in half, it will grow roots and may produce daughter plants from the damaged leaf ?  This is information that will be important for planning management strategies in infested waterbodies.

crested floating heart (Nymphoides cristata) by Larry McCord, Santee Cooper, Bugwood.org

There were several presentations on grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) movement in rivers and reservoirs.  Researchers will implant tracking devices in the grass carp and monitor their movement at key points to see where they will travel if they are introduced for invasive aquatic plants control.  Sterile grass carp, also called triploid grass carp, are often used in rivers to prevent them from reproducing.

grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Archive, Bugwood.org

In addition to the presentations, there was a large station with many species of aquatic weeds!  This is great for showing the variety of species that are an issue nationwide.

Aquatic weeds identification station by Rebekah D. Wallace

Shortly before the awards dinner, there was a duck race!

Aquatic Plant Management Society Meeting Duck Race by Rebekah D. Wallace

This was an interesting and educational meeting, so if you're in the aquatic plants field you should check it out!

Populations Declining Despite Some Conservation Successes

Conservation programs have definitely increased populations of threatened and endangered species: Lesser-Prairie Chicken, Oregon Chub, and Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frog are just a few of the species which have begun to rebound.  For many species, conflicts with humans, either directly or though habitat disturbance, is a primary cause of population decline.  In fact, habitat destruction is the main threat to 85% of the species assessed on the ICUN Red List.  As such, habitat restoration is a major part of most conservation plans and this has lead to population increases and delisting of some species.

Lion (Panthera leo) by Joy Viola, Northeastern University, Bugwood.org

However, not all endangered species are part of conservation programs and many are protected are continuing to decline.  Big cats are very charismatic and are "poster animals" for conservation programs and endangered species.  Despite conservation efforts, many species are still declining due to prey animal population decline, human-animal conflict, and poaching.  Many species of plants are also impacted by human activities, not only habitat destruction, but also poaching.  Almost all of the 84 species of Asian slipper orchid are threatened by over-collection and habitat loss.

While 14 new species have been assessed as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct), no new species have been listed as Extinct.


Source Article: Conservation successes overshadowed by more species declines – IUCN Red List update

Lesser-Prairie Chicken Survey Shows 25% Population Increase in One Year!

The Lesser-Prairie Chicken Initiative (LPCI), like many successful programs, is a collaboration among government agencies and private landowners.  Not only does getting the public involved in the conservation efforts raise awareness and support, but 95% of the chicken's current range is on private land.  The lesser-prairie chicken is currently located in four ecoregions covering five states, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. From 2014 to 2015, the total population experienced a 25% increase; this is on top of last year's 20% increase.  As most of the population decline is due to habitat loss, USDA - Natural Resource Conservation Service, through the LCPI, has invested more than $20 million to help private landowners improve habitat and ranchland sustainability on nearly 950,000 acres since 2010.  By improving the habitat for the chicken, the ecosystem as a whole benefits from cleaner air, water, and soil.

Lesser-prairie chickens prefer grassland habitats. Image by Dave Powell, USDA Forest Service (retired), Bugwood.org

Source Article: Survey: Lesser Prairie-Chicken Population Continues to Climb
Lesser-Prairie Chicken Initiative
Lesser-Prairie Chicken Survey - Aerial survey shows lesser prairie-chicken population increased 25 percent from 2014 to 2015

Oregon Chub the First Fish to be Removed from the Endangered Species List

It took 20 years of work by a large group of federal and state agencies, private landowners, and other concerned programs, but the Oregon chub (Oregonichthys crameri) has been removed from the endangered species list.  The fish was listed in 1993 when the population was estimated to be 1,000 individuals in eight known locations.  Today, there are over 80 known location and the population had increased approximately 140,000.  The restoration efforts were funded 100% by USDA-ARS and the chub's habitat, slack water off-channel habitats such as beaver ponds, oxbows, side channels, backwater sloughs, low gradient tributaries, and flooded marshes, fell mostly under the Wetlands Reserve Program.  The population rebounded almost entirely due to habitat improvement and introduction to new locations within its historical range.  By developing cooperative partnerships with a number of different agencies, professionals, and private landowners projects like the Oregon chub recovery can succeed.

Beaver pond, typical habitat for Oregon chub. Image by Karan A. Rawlins, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org

Source Article: USDA Employee Named “Recovery Champion” for Oregon Chub Conservation Efforts
Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office: Species Fact Sheet Oregon chub

Sportsmen's Fight Against Invasives Video

Produced by Wild Dakota Outdoor Television in partnership with the MRWC, these thirteen videos were designed to raise awareness among sportsmen of invasive species and their impacts on hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation.

• Sportsmen Fight Against Invasives
• Reporting Invasive Species Sightings
• For Waterfowl Hunters
• Aquatics
• For more videos by Wild Dakota Outdoors

largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoidesDave Fuller, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Bugwood.org

Seabird Populations Reduced 70% Since 1950

A comparison of seabird populations from the 1950s to 2010 showed a loss of 230 million birds during that time.  The decline can be attributed to a number of causes, including human over-fishing of prey fish, plastic and oil pollution, invasive species introduced to nesting sites, habitat destruction, and climate change affecting the environment.  Seabirds can be an important indicator of the health of marine and coastal ecosystems, so such a steep population decline indicates that there are major problems within these environments which need to be addressed.

Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) by Forest and Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org

Source Article: Global trends show seabird populations dropped 70 percent since 1950s

Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frogs Reintroduced to Lakes in Yosemite

Historically, the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog (Rana sierrae) was abundant thoughout the Sierra Nevada.  Tourists would encounter hundreds of them near lake shores, but the population has declined precipitously in the last 30-40 years.  The populations are now scattered and extinct in some of the historical range.  The causes of the decline of frogs have been attributed to introduction of fish non-native, primarily trout, to the frog's lakes, the chytrid fungus, pollution, other diseases, and human activity which has impacted their environment (nutrient run-off from farms, mining run-off, etc.).  The non-native trout will not only eat the frogs at all life stages, but they also compete with frogs for food.  The chytrid fungus has impacted many species of frogs by growing in keratin on the skin and causes chytridiomycosis.  It is a disease which affects the frog's ability to breathe and regulate their water balance and often results in death.

Cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii), a non-native trout introduced to Yosemite.  Image by Chris Schnepf, University of Idaho, Bugwood.org

Yosemite National Park has been working internally on restoring lakes and reintroducing the frogs to portions of their historical range.  The frogs had not been entirely extirpated from Yosemite, so they have been able to use local populations to reintroduce to other areas of the park.  They have reintroduced frogs to two of the seven lakes that they have restored and have micro-chipped some of the frogs to keep track of their locations.

Source Article: Yosemite Restoring Endangered Yellow-legged frogs to Alpine Lakes
Yosemite Species Page: Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frog