Super-highways for invasive species

Heidi Himes is a fish biologist at the Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office.

It’s National Invasive Species Awareness Week, a time to call attention to and identify solutions for combating the adverse impacts of invasive species on the ecological and economic health of our natural resources. Heidi Himes, along with other biologists at the Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office are diligently working to detect and prevent the spread of aquatic invasive  species in the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario drainage basins, and the Erie Canal. Today Heidi shares some insight into their invasive journey. 

Many of the canal systems of the world were designed to increase the flow of goods across countries and continents, thereby fueling national and global economies. The Panama Canal, the Suez Canal and the Erie Canal are some of the most well known.

A map of the Erie Canal, 1840.

Not only do these canal systems increase the flow of goods, they also contribute to the flow of species across watersheds and across the globe to the detriment of many native species. So in essence, canals can act as super-highways for invasive species, granting access to areas that otherwise would have been inaccessible or impassable due to natural geographic barriers.

For example, the most recent glacial retreat 12,000 years ago left Lake Ontario separated from Lake Erie by a not too small barrier called Niagara Falls. Then, in the 1800’s and early 1900’s, construction of the Chambly and Champlain Canals in Vermont, the Erie Canal in New York and the Welland Canal in Canada bypassed the natural barriers glaciation had created – allowing species such as the sea lamprey to migrate into Lake Ontario and westward all the way to Lake Superior. The introduction of sea lamprey into new waters contributed to the decimation of native lake trout in the Great Lakes.

Biologists from the Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office monitor fish species in the Erie Canal. Photo credit: USFWS

The invasive round goby also has caused impacts upon the economy and ecology of the Great Lakes since it’s arrival in the 1990s. In addition to eating lake trout eggs, they out-compete native fish species like darters and sculpins, which are essential food items for larger sport fish. The round goby is now spreading eastward to the Finger Lakes and the Hudson River through the Erie Canal.

Fish biologist Kelly McDonald, delineates the extent of the hydrilla infestation. Photo credit: USFWS

Non-native aquatic plants such as hydrilla, water hyacinth and water chestnut also have the potential to spread across New York through the Erie Canal. These aquatic plants crowd out native plants, damaging habitat for fish, amphibians and birds.

Luckily, wildlife and fisheries biologists have learned that with early detection they are better able to eliminate and control the spread of these harmful species.

A team of biologists from the Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office in Basom, New York are hard at work monitoring invasive fish and plant species at several connection points along the Erie Canal. Two such locations are the intersection of the canal and the Genesee River in Rochester and the Seneca-Cayuga Canal which links the Erie Canal to the beautiful Finger Lakes region.

“Early detection at these critical junctions can help us respond rapidly to prevent invasive species from spreading to a new water body, “ says Sandra Keppner, the Northeast Regional Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator. “While we observed the round goby near Utica, New York – over half way from Lake Erie to the Hudson River, the good news is that we haven’t seen any new invasive species.”

The western end of the Erie Canal was infested with water chestnut in 2010. Photo credit: USFWS

Biologists are also helping control hydrilla, one of the most rapidly spreading invasive plants threatening recreational fishing and boating. Hydrilla chokes valuable fish habitat, which can reduce oxygen levels and cause fish kills.

They first found hydrilla at the western end of the Erie Canal in 2012. Heavy recreational traffic cuts the plants into fragments, like cuttings for new houseplants, which flow along the canal and establish more colonies. After biologists found hydrilla a few miles further east in the canal in 2013, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers led a collaborative effort with the New York State Canal Corporation, the Lower Great Lakes FWCO and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to remove hydrilla in the 15-mile section from the Niagara River east to Lockport, New York. “We are pleased to report that treatments applied in 2014 and 2015 greatly reduced the mass of hydrilla in this area” says Sandra.

After one season of using a mechanical harvester to remove water chestnut, we can see the surface of the Erie Canal again and pathways created by fish moving through the matted canal. Photo credit: USFWS

Another successful effort in our battle against invasives is the control of water chestnut in the western end of the Erie Canal before it enters the upper Niagara River. “Back in 2010, we were mechanically removing this plant by the cubic yard, with amounts weighing 100,000 lbs. Local residents would say they saw ‘squirrels running on the water’, when the water chestnut was so dense. Today, we are removing 200-400 plants in an entire summer, using just our hands which allows us to remove the root along with floating leaves,” says Mike Goehle, Deputy Manager, Lower Great Lakes FWCO.

After two seasons of mechanical removal, the western end of the Erie Canal is nearly free of water chestnut. Photo credit: USFWS

Aquatic species invasions are no joke, they can be vectors of viruses and disease to which native species have no resistance, they can decimate native species and destroy habitat. Canals systems are likely here to stay, and will continue to act as super-highways for aquatic species. Outreach and education to raise awareness of the problems and how to prevent the spread of invasive speciescan help make the positive changes needed to protect aquatic landscapes.

Students restore urban landscapes and learn about natural communities

Today we are hearing from Denise Clay and Catherine Gatenby from the Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office about their versatile pollinator garden and what it means to Silo City! 

For two years, biologists with the Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office have been working with urban school children, girl scouts and volunteers from the Buffalo, NY area to restore habitat at a historic site called Silo City  – home to our nation’s longest standing grain elevators, located along the Buffalo River Area of Concern. The site had been invaded by nuisance plant species and was suffering from decades of environmental contamination and habitat degradation.

Silo City, Buffalo NY

Together with many partners, we planted a native garden and restored a steep slope along the riverfront after invasive Japanese knotweed was cleared away, and we created a pollinator garden in an upland area. Local students and girl scouts grew seedlings of milkweed, and then planted them in June with other native flowering plants. Project partners include Silo City and Rigidized Metals Corporation, People United for Sustainable Housing Buffalo, Landscape and Urban Design Department of the State University of New York at Buffalo, Great Lakes Experience Friends group, McKinley High School, Tapestry Charter School, Elmwood Village Charter School and Girls Scouts from Daisy Troop #31055 and Cadet Troop #31313.

Riparian garden planted with native species along the Buffalo River with help from McKinley High School and Tapestry Charter School students.

Part of this steep riverbank is stabilized with hardy native plants.

Local Daisy Girl Scouts and Biologist, Betsy Trometer help pollinators by restoring habitat at Silo City in Buffalo, New York.

These projects not only restore habitat for migrating fish, birds and butterflies, they also are living outdoor classrooms for environment-based curriculums in schools, and serve as public demonstration models for restoring urban habitat for the thousands of Silo City visitors each year.

Pollinator garden is lush with plants and flowers after one month.

A Monarch caterpillar on a milkweed plant at Silo City in August, 2015.

Students and scouts returned to the project site several times to see first-hand how their actions created healthy habitat for plants and animals. After one month, the area was lush with plants and flowers. In August, students observed monarch caterpillars on milkweed plants growing in the garden. Then in October, we harvested milkweed seeds from the plants and dispersed them to expand the garden for next year.

Additional restoration plans include encouraging native grasslands, improving riverbank habitat, and creating natural drainage pools for collecting run-off from the area before entering the river – all of which will offer public education on how and why restoring habitat is good for people and nature.

We also bring students from the Buffalo and Rochester area out to visit us on the Iroquois NWR. Our goal is to help them follow the through line of natural communities from the Great Lakes through the city to the open big woods and wetlands on the refuge, so they can see how where they live is connected to and part of the natural world.

Elementary schoolchildren from northern Buffalo area enjoy a day in the woods, exploring nature through the lens of photography. Pathways Intern and Biologist, Kwamina Otseidu leads the group.

Students enjoy a day of learning, exploring and photographing nature, followed by writing about their experiences. Students then receive a framed print of one of their photographs with their personal reflection captioned below, to share with friends and family – and as a keepsake from us which we hope will inspire them to keep exploring.

Woods in Black and White. “This is my favorite picture because I like how the forest looks in black and white. I also like how all the light makes the forest stand out. It gives a different view of the plants and trees.” Credit: Kareema Wallace, McKinley High School, Buffalo NY

Through all of our outreach programs, we aim to cultivate environmental awareness, develop connections to outdoor spaces, and foster future land stewards.

 

Secrets of the Lower Great Lakes: The search for lake sturgeon

Catherine Gatenby is a fish biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Lake sturgeon nearly disappeared from the Great Lakes 100 years ago. Discovering the secrets of their biology to help recover the species is a group effort. Today, Catherine Gatenby takes us on a journey to the Niagara River, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario with fish biologists who are diving deep into sturgeon waters to find answers we need for helping this ancient species of fish.

Out on Lake Erie in search of lake sturgeon. Photo credit: USFWS

While the quest for lost treasure chests of information about lake sturgeon might not be considered fodder for an Indiana Jones movie, the discoveries may be more valuable than gold to fish biologists. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office and Northeast Fishery Center along with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the U. S. Geological Services and Shedd Aquarium are working together to recover lake sturgeon.

Their pursuit to uncover the secrets of this ancient fish doesn’t include excursions into dark caverns or midnight camel rides across the desert. However, it does involve dives into the blue waters of the Niagara River and breathtaking adventures on the expansive Great Lakes.  It takes a dedicated team of scientists, engineers, boat captains and barge operators to restore lake sturgeon and its habitat. 

Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office and Northeast Fishery Center lake sturgeon restoration crew out on Lake Ontario. Photo credit: USFWS

Far less is known about the lake sturgeon in lakes Erie and Ontario than in the other Great Lakes. Questions we ask ourselves as we embark on this adventure include: How many sturgeon live here? Where do lake sturgeon spend their lives? Where is the best habitat for spawning and feeding? What do they eat? How many adults are reproducing? And the ultimate question we aim to answer is: How long before we can consider the population healthy and self-sustaining in the Great Lakes? 

“We collect valuable information by tagging wild fish. We learn about their movement, diets, hormone levels and genetic diversity to help us answer these questions,” says Dr. Dimitry Gorsky, of the Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office. 

Fish biologists with the Northeast Fishery Center and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, implant a tag that will transmit valuable information on migratory behaviors of lake sturgeon. Photo credit: Shedd Aquarium

Biologists are observing an increase in lake sturgeon numbers in many remnant populations across the Great Lakes. “Over the past four years, we have captured and uniquely marked over 600 individual fish. We used to catch between 15 to 20 fish per year just 10 years ago,” reports Dr. Gorsky, “but we are steadily capturing more lake sturgeon, more than 100 fish each year. This summer, we have already captured nearly 200 fish and are on our way to a record year.”  

Northeast Fishery Center biologist releases a wild lake sturgeon after collecting vital information that will help evaluate overall health of the population. Photo credit: USFWS

The age distribution of lake sturgeon are eerily similar among different populations as those observed in the lower Great Lakes; most are less than 25 years old, suggesting that this ongoing recovery is in response to large-scale actions that took place many years ago. The first of which may be the Clean Water Act of 1972, which set the table for preventing and removing pollution from our waters. Also in the 1970s, some U.S. states along with the Province of Ontario, Canada, enacted fishing closures on lake sturgeon to protect what fish were remaining, according to Gorsky.

“For species that delay reproduction, such as the the lake sturgeon which doesn’t reproduce until at least 10 to 15 years of age, it would naturally take decades to see an increase in population growth, assuming the causes for the decline have been abated,” says Dr. John Sweka of the Northeast Fishery Center. 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fisheries biologists study the gentle and ancient lake sturgeon to help with its recovery. Photo credit: USFWS

The combination of setting harvest limits and improvements in water and habitat quality is creating a favorable environment for lake sturgeon recovery. “It’s amazing that actions begun so long ago continue to be linked to improvements in our Great Lakes,” remarked Dr. Gorsky. “Perhaps the greatest secret lake sturgeon may have revealed to us is that recovery takes time.” 

Lake sturgeon in the Niagara River. Photo credit: USFWS

Read more about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s high-tech tracking of lake sturgeon in the Buffalo Harbor, NY.

Read more about the Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office and the Northeast Fishery Center