Myriophyllum spicatum | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Saxifragales |
Family: | Haloragaceae |
Genus: | Myriophyllum |
Species: | M. spicatum |
Binomial name | |
Myriophyllum spicatum L., 1753 | |
Synonyms [2] | |
List
|
Myriophyllum spicatum (Eurasian watermilfoil [3] or spiked water-milfoil) is a submerged aquatic plant which grows in still or slow-moving water. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but has a wide geographic and climatic distribution among some 57 countries, extending from northern Canada to South Africa. [4] It is considered to be a highly invasive species. [4]
Eurasian watermilfoil has slender stems up to 250 centimetres (8.2 ft) long. [4] The submerged leaves (usually between 15–35 mm long) are borne in pinnate whorls of four, with numerous thread-like leaflets roughly 4–13 mm long. Plants are monoecious with flowers produced in the leaf axils (male above, female below) on a spike 5–15 cm long held vertically above the water surface, each flower is inconspicuous, orange-red, 4–6 mm long. Eurasian water milfoil has 12- 21 pairs of leaflets while northern watermilfoil M. sibiricum only has 5–9 pairs. The two can hybridize and the resulting hybrid plants can cause taxonomic confusion as leaf characters are intermediate and can overlap with parent species. [5]
Myriophyllum spicatum produces ellagic, gallic and pyrogallic acids and (+)-catechin, allelopathic polyphenols inhibiting the growth of blue-green alga Microcystis aeruginosa . [6]
Myriophyllum spicatum is found in disperse regions of North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. [4]
Myriophyllum spicatum was likely first introduced to North America in the 1940s [7] where it has become an invasive species in some areas. By the mid 1970s, watermilfoil had also covered thousands of hectares in British Columbia and Ontario, Canada, [4] [8] and spread some 500 kilometres (310 mi) downstream via the Columbia River system into the Pacific Northwest of the United States. [4] Eurasian watermilfoil is now found across most of Northern America where it is recognized as a noxious weed. [9]
In lakes or other aquatic areas where native aquatic plants are not well established, the Eurasian plant can spread quickly. [4] It has been known to crowd out native plants and create dense mats that interfere with recreational activity. [4] Dense growth of Eurasian milfoil can also have a negative impact on fisheries by creating microhabitats for juvenile fish and obstructing space for larger fish ultimately disrupting normal feeding patterns. Due to the Eurasian milfoil plant's inability to provide the same microhabitat for invertebrates as compared to native aquatic plant species, densely populated areas of Eurasian milfoil create an ecosystem with less food sources for the surrounding fish. Dense Eurasian milfoil growth can also create hypoxic zones by blocking out sun penetration to native aquatic vegetation preventing them from photosynthesizing. [10] Eurasian watermilfoil grows primarily from broken off stems, known as shoot fragments, which increases the rate at which the plant can spread and grow. In some areas, the Eurasian Watermilfoil is an Aquatic Nuisance Species. [4] Eurasian watermilfoil is known to hybridize with the native northern watermilfoil (M. sibiricum) and the hybrid taxon has also become invasive in North America. [4] This hybridization has been observed across the upper midwestern United States (Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin) and in the Northwest (Idaho, Washington). [11]
The aquatic moth Acentria ephemerella , the water veneer moth, feeds upon and damages this water milfoil. It has been used as an agent of biological pest control against the plant in North America. The milfoil weevil ( Euhrychiopsis lecontei ) has also been used as biocontrol. Another method for biocontrol is Grass Carp, (one of the Asian Carp species) which have been bred as sterile, is sometimes released into affected areas, since these fish primarily feed on aquatic plants and have proven effective at controlling the spread. However, the carp prefer many native species to the milfoil and will usually decimate preferred species before eating the milfoil. In Washington State the success rate of Grass Carp has been less than expected. They were used in 98 lakes and 39 percent of them had no submerged plant life left after only a short time. [12]
Since roughly 2000, hand-harvesting of invasive milfoils has shown much success as a management technique. Several organizations in the New England states have undertaken large scale, lake-wide hand-harvesting management programs with extremely successful results. Acknowledgment had to be made that it is impossible to completely eradicate the species once it is established. As a result, maintenance must be done once an infestation has been reduced to affordably controlled levels. Well trained divers with proper techniques have been able to effectively control and then maintain many lakes, especially in the Adirondack Park in Northern New York where chemicals, mechanical harvesters, and other disruptive and largely unsuccessful management techniques are banned. After only three years of hand harvesting in Saranac Lake the program was able to reduce the amount harvested from over 18 tons to just 800 pounds per year. [13]
In order to prevent damages from mass growth of the plant in lakes, the water level can be lowered. By freezing out the bottom of the bank in the winter months, the population of the plant decreases. [14]
Trailering boats has proven to be a significant vector by which Eurasian milfoil is able to spread and proliferate across otherwise disconnected bodies of water. Effective methods for mitigating this spread, are visual inspections with subsequent hand removal or pressure washing upon boat removal. [15] In the Okanagan River Basin of south-central British Columbia, a specially-adapted rototiller is used to dredge shallow water to damage or destroy the root system. [16]
Water garden or aquatic garden, is a term sometimes used for gardens, or parts of gardens, where any type of water feature is a principal or dominant element. The primary focus is on plants, but they will sometimes also house waterfowl, or ornamental fish, in which case it may be called a fish pond. They vary enormously in size and style.
Myriophyllum is a genus of about 69 species of freshwater aquatic plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The centre of diversity for Myriophyllum is Australia with 43 recognized species.
Myriophyllum aquaticum is a flowering plant, a vascular dicot, commonly called parrot's-feather and parrot feather watermilfoil.
Lake George is a small lake in Anoka County, Minnesota, located within the city of Oak Grove, 12 miles (19 km) north of the city of Anoka. Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources tracks the lake by the name George and the identifier 02-0091-00. The USGS tracks the lake by the ID 644081 and the coordinates of 45°21′25″N93°20′10″W
Rainbow Lake is a 116-acre manmade lake near the town of Pinetop-Lakeside and the community of Lake of the Woods in southern Navajo County, Arizona, United States. The lake was created in 1903 when Mormon settlers dammed Walnut Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River, to impound water for irrigation.
Acentria is a monotypic moth genus of the family Crambidae described by James Francis Stephens in 1829. Its only species, Acentria ephemerella, the watermilfoil moth or water veneer, was described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is used as an agent of biological pest control against the noxious aquatic plant known as Eurasian watermilfoil.
Katey M. Walter Anthony is an Alaskan aquatic ecologist and biogeochemist researching carbon and nutrient cycling between terrestrial and aquatic systems, and the cryosphere and atmosphere.
Myriophyllum verticillatum, the whorl-leaf watermilfoil or whorled water-milfoil, is a native to much of North America, North Africa, and Eurasia. It closely resembles another native milfoil, called northern water milfoil Whorled water milfoil is also easily confused with four types of invasive milfoils: Eurasian water milfoil, Variable water-milfoil, Parrot feather, and hybrid water milfoil.
Curlew Lake is a 921-acre (3.73 km2) lake located in the glacier-carved Curlew Valley northeast of Republic, Washington. The spring- and stream-fed lake is named for the long-billed curlew, Numenius americanus, that once frequented the area. The 7-mile-long (11 km) lake reaches a maximum of 1⁄3 miles wide and includes four small islands.
Myriophyllum sibiricum is a species of water milfoil known by the common names shortspike watermilfoil, northern watermilfoil, and Siberian water-milfoil. It is native to Russia, China, and much of North America, where it grows in aquatic habitat such as ponds and streams. It generally grows over a meter long, its green stem drying white. It is lined with whorls of fanlike green leaves divided into many narrow, feathery lobes.
Euhrychiopsis lecontei, also known as the milfoil weevil, is a type of weevil that has been investigated as a potential biocontrol agent for Eurasian water milfoil. It is found in the eastern and central United States and western Canada.
Canadian aquatic invasive species are all forms of life that traditionally has not been native to Canada's waterways. In Eastern Canada, non-native plant and animal species are a concern to biologists. Bringing non-native species such as invasive fishes into Canada can damage the environment and ecosystem by repressing native species due to food competition or preying. Invasive fishes enter the fresh waters of Canada in several ways including drifting, deliberate introduction, accidental release, experimental purposes and, most commonly, through the attachment on international boat hulls. Invasive species are the second biggest threat to fish and other marine life in Canada behind loss of habitat and degradation. The threat to native species is primarily caused by impacts on the food web; however, invasive species also bring dangerous pathogens and physically interfere with existing aquatic life. Invasive species include sea lampreys, zebra mussels, smallmouth bass, European green crab, vase tunicate, and sea squirts.
Seymour Lake is located in the town of Morgan in Orleans County, Vermont, an area known as the Northeast Kingdom. The lake was named for Israel Seymour, one of the original grantees. Natives called it Namagonic. The lake is on a tributary of the Clyde River in Orleans County, Vermont. It is one of only two deep, cold, and oligotrophic lakes in the Clyde River system, the other being nearby Echo Lake
Myriophyllum alterniflorum, known as alternate water-milfoil or alternateflower watermilfoil, is a species of water-milfoil. It is native to Europe and Asia,has been introduced to North America and inhabits aquatic habitat, such as ponds and streams.
Pleiness Lake, also known as Lost Lake, is a natural lake located in Eden Township, Mason County, Michigan in the northwestern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
Aquatic plant management involves the science and methodologies used to control invasive and non-invasive aquatic plant species in waterways. Methods used include spraying herbicide, biological controls, mechanical removal as well as habitat modification. Preventing the introduction of invasive species is ideal.
Lake Namakagon is located in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. The lake is a large freshwater drainage lake that opens inlet and outlet of streams located between Lake Superior and Mississippi River system. The lake is located in the upper Namekagon river watershed as St. Croix river basin is the subwatershed of it. The lake derives its name from the Ojibwe language, and it means "Lake abundant with sturgeons." It is known for tourism and was the home of the legendary Anishinaabe Chief Namakagon.
Little Muskego Lake is located in Muskego, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, along a tributary of the Fox River. It is populated by musk grass, water celery, and several invasive plant species. Fishing is permitted for personal consumption only. Bass and panfish are most commonly caught. It hosts many recreational activities, including boating, swimming, waterskiing, and ice fishing. Its mean depth is 14 meters with an area of 190.2 hectares.
Squantz Pond is a 288-acre lake in Fairfield County, Connecticut. It is located on the town line of Sherman and New Fairfield, and is bordered by manmade Candlewood Lake. The south shore is protected as Squantz Pond State Park, and is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The pond is named for Chief Squantz, a leader of the Schaghticoke tribe.