Aquatic Invasive Plant Survey Updates

Hello Everyone,

We are up to 650 observations from 196 observers in the Aquatic Invasive Plant Survey project! Thank you to everyone who has helped so far.

This is a brief orientation to the project goals and update on AIS in Ohio's Lake Erie Basin. For more info send me a message here or shoot an email to mjw1@clevelandmetroparks.com.

Data collected here will be shared with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources as part of an effort to record invaders in Ohio's Great Lake drainage. iNaturalist records may also be picked up by national efforts like the Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database from USGS. Two goals of this project are to stop the spread of invaders and prioritize which plants receive management activities.

In order to pick which plants get the 'boot', we need accurate information on plant distribution and abundance. Two species of nuisance vegetation that we stand a good chance to detect early are Hydrilla verticillata, http://hydrillacollaborative.com

And starry stonewort (Nitella obtusa), which is technically algae:
http://fingerlakesinvasives.org/starry-stonewort-collaborative

So keep the plant and habitat pictures coming! If you are new to the world of invaders and underwater forests I recommend the Ohio AIS guidebook - https://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/products/4j7wz/ohio-field-guide-to-ais

If you have access to a permanent waterbody that falls in this project, please get in contact me. We may be able to survey together in the field. I appreciate suggestions, too!
Thanks, and happy almost-spring!

Mark Warman
Aquatic Invasive Species Project Coordinator at Cleveland Metroparks

Posted on March 19, 2019 07:38 PM by mjwarman