Invasive Species of the Great Lakes - Assignment Example

Invasive Species of the Great Lakes The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence is one of the most famous interconnected chains of lakes as they form the biggest freshwater pool on Earth. The lakes are situated on the American-Canadian border and include  Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron (or Michigan–Huron),Erie, and Ontario. It is threatening that now this precious ecosystem is confronting serious harm from invasion of non-native species. It is estimated that since the beginning of the IXX century more than 180 oceanic species from around the globe have invaded the biological community of the lakes. A large number of these intruders have had noteworthy effects on the ecological and financial state of the area. Among the species that attacked the Great Lakes it is necessary to mention zebra and quagga mussels, round goby, sea lamprey, Eurasian ruffe, purple loosestrife, Eurasian watermilfoil, and spiny and fishhook waterfleas. Despite the fact that Asian carp was not still established as intrusive kind species there is a serious suspicions that it may have negative effect on the ecosystem of the lakes. Apart from the Asian carp, bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molotrix) are potentially harmful for the Great Lakes now. These kinds of carp can have devastating effects for the lakes because of their extraordinary qualities (Invasive Species 1). To maintain the ecological balance of the area freshwater assets, new intrusions must be avoided, and the existing aquatic invasive species must be adequately regulated and controlled. Otherwise the Great Lakes might experience a serious ecological catastrophe. The Great Lakes are located above Niagara Falls have been a totally isolated territory for a long period of time. They experienced first changes in 1959 when joined program of Canadian and American authorities approved the construction of Northwoods Wisconsin pond. The system was supposed to provide the countries with necessary water resources with the help of channels, locks, and dams. Additionally, this construction opened the way to invasive species, such as fish, plants, viruses, and mollusks, which could sail up from the ocean. That is how St. Lawrence River above the falls, which is considered central artery of the continent, got affected by numerous invasive species. Earlier only small vessels were able to sail up to a small man-made navigation routes from the East Coast that connected Lake Michigan to the Mississippi, however, it did not have such negative consequences. Later the access to the lakes was provided to gigantic boats and that turned out to be fatal for the ecosystem of the lakes. Scientists have calculated around 60 invasive organisms in the waters of Great Lakes and most of them got there in ballast tanks of boats. It took years to resolve the problem and require on the governmental level from overseas freighters to decontaminate the parts of their vessels when sailing up to the Great Lakes (Egan 2). Intrusive species is primarily a threat to fragile ecosystem of the lakes as they may cause fatal imbalance because it is impossible to predict how these new species will incorporate into an established food chain. Their control and elimination also requires serious investments from local businesses and governmental orgaizations directly and indirectly. The costs spent on maintenance of purity, inspection, and removal of aquatic invasive species is extremely high. To be precise, the expense of controlling zebra mussels at one water facility costs around $ 400.000 per year. That is why American and Canadian state and local governments are forced to spend millions of dollars trying to the spread of AIS in the Great Lakes. The commercial sectors most influenced by invasive species intrusion are sport sector, fishing, water treatment, energy production, and tourism. Together, these businesses employ more than 125,000 people in this area so any serious damage to the ecosystem will also lead to high unemployment in this area. Intrusive species cause indirect expenses such as diminished productivity because the resources that could be used in more effective way are directed on managing the effects of AIS, such as expelling zebra mussels from water admission pipes. Moreover, AIS caused reduction in services and goods utilization such as decreased interest from the side of fishermen and tourists normally visiting the Great Lakes. The tourist sector itself experienced serious losses as with beaches closing leads to closing of such places as hotels and cafes (Aquatic Invasive Species Cost Businesses Hundreds of Millions Annually 1). Thus, it is necessary to pay attention to the kinds of new non-native species because the absence of natural predators, as a means of keeping balance, can result in fast population growth of these species and subsequent population decrease of the native species. Moreover, invasion of intruders also leads to the destruction of natural habitat for existing species and devastation of resources (McCartney 4). It is possible to divide intrusive species into several categories: animals, mussels and mollusks, and invasive plants. More than 20 types of non-native fish have invaded the Great Lakes such as round goby, ocean lamprey, Eurasian ruffe, alewife and others. These fish have had huge effects on the Great Lakes balance as they aimed to receive food and habitat of the local fish. Intrusive creatures have likewise been in charge of expanded degradation of beach line and extensive loss of plant spread (Invasive Species, EPA 2). Even the smallest intruders can become a serious problem for ecosystem balance. Thus, zebra mussels and quagga mussels have become a real disaster for a fragile ecosystem of the Great Lakes despite their tiny size. They are often mentioned as the most dangerous trespassers due to their ability to spread and reproduce incredibly fast. Zebra mussels and quagga mussels are essentially indistinguishable as they look alike and behave in the same way. Originated in Eastern Europe, these invaders were picked up by in the stabilizer water departments of maritime boats and brought to the lakes in the end of XX century. In a decade zebra mussels and quagga mussels had spread around all the lakes of the chain. Presently, both species have invaded 29 states with the help of vessels moving between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins. Artificial channels like Chicago Area Waterways System channel serve as the perfect routes for trespassers and have become the route for Asian carp, which are presently spreading towards the Great Lakes (Invasive Mussels 2011). The speed of reproduction is the main threat of these species. One tiny mussel will create around five million eggs, 100,000 of which will become grow up species ready for reproduction. Thus, in a short period of time a single mussel can multiply in a billion of times with the help of its offspring. That is why the quantity of zebra and quagga mussels is calculated in trillions today. The nutrition of such an overwhelming quantity of species deserves closer look. These species consume organic entities called plankton floating in the water. Despite the fact that zebra and quagga mussels eat large part of plankton making the water clear they deprive other species of necessary quantity of food. It is basic to keep zebra and quagga mussels from migrating and multiplying further, and to keep new non-native species out of the Great Lakes. Zebra and quagga mussels damage local fish populaces, ruin shorelines and join pontoons, water admission funnels, and different structures resulting in serious financial losses for the Great Lakes economy. They do harm to local species by disrupting the natural food web of plankton, which has a negative impact on the ecological balance. Absence of necessary amount of food has decreased the population of alewives, salmon, whitefish and local mussel species. Indirect effect of plankton disappearance is clearer water which permits sunlight to reach to the lake bottom, making perfect conditions for green algae to develop. In such a way zebra and quagga mussels have advanced the development and spread of lethal green algae. These algae make beaches unsuitable for tourists and provoke botulism flare-ups that cause deaths of numerous species of fish and birds (Invasive Mussles 1). Among the most aggressive invaders experts always distinguish the round goby, a little fish choosing rocky and sandy bottom as a place of habitat. This fish comes originally from Black and Caspian seas and is believed to invade the Great Lakes with European vessels a couple of decades ago. In several years the fish has spread through the lakes and started reproducing. Now in some areas its population reaches 100 fish per one square meter. The round goby needs insects, mussels and small creatures inhabiting the bottoms of the lakes and rivers for nutrition. In a battle for food round goby adults compete with native species such as the northern madtom (Noturus stigmosus), the eastern sand darter (Ammocrypta pellucida), and several species of freshwater mussels. This invader has already caused reduction of sport fish by destroying eggs and offsprings (Round Goby 1) Asian carp is the second most mentioned threat to the ecological balance of the Great Lakes. Despite the fact that it is still a potential threat many experts claim that insufficient prevention will lead to real ecological catastrophe. The fish intruded the Great Lakes from different directions; however, the Chicago Area Waterways System is one of the most popular sources of Asian Carp intrusion. The U.S. Armed force Corps of Engineers has implemented three electric obstructions to keep Asian carp from entering Lake Michigan, however these barriers cannot guarantee total isolation of the species from the Great Lakes. Lake Michigan close to Chicago, Chicago Sanitary, and Ship Canal are the places where carp was already found, so the penetration of this intruder is hardly possible to stop now. Scientists claim that is almost impossible to eradicate the population of carp once they have entered some environment because they are extremely tough and productive. Asian carp refers to the kind of carp originated from Southeast Asia. Generally this name is applied to different types of fish such as silver carp, bighead carp, black carp and others. The fish is extremely powerful as it eats up to 20% of its bodyweight in plankton a day and can reach serious sizes. Therefore, the natural food web is under a great threat with carp establishment in the Great Lakes. Moreover, some carps can grow up to 100 pounds and become a threat to boaters as the fish reacts to boat engines by jumping out of the water and colliding with people (Asian Carp Threat to the Greta Lakes). Intrusive plants are also a matter of great concern for the ecologists. The natural balance of the lakes was disrupted by such non-native plants such as common reed (Phragmites australis), reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), curly pondweed (Potamogeton crispus), Eurasian milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum), frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae), and two types of non-native cattails (Typha angustifolia and Typha glauca). Most of the intruders have an ability to spread really fast over large territories. For instance, loosestrife is very tall and is able to create more than 2 million seeds every year. Others duplicate from pieces of root or rhizome, which prevents effective evacuation and control. Such plants with the help of high abilities to reproduction have become a part of the Great Lakes habitat, relocating the local plant populaces that helped avoiding erosion. These plants also prevent normal swimming and boats drifting undermining tourism (Invasive Plants 1). The problem of invasive species in one of the biggest freshwater pools on the planet, the Great Lakes, is extremely urgent today. The Great Lakes turned out to be especially unprotected before intrusive animals, mussles, plants, and viruses which disrupted the natural ecological balance. Having entered into the waters of the Great Lakes with the help of vessels invasive species established themselves successfully in the new ecosystem. The absence of natural predators and the possibility for enormous growth allows intruders to reproduce really fast relocating and destroying natural species. It resulted in serious environmental, economic, and social consequences for the lakes and the whole region. Therefore, prevention, thorough control, and elimination of already existing invasive species is the main task of ecological an environmental organizations. Works Cited Aquatic Invasive Species Cost Businesses Hundreds of Millions Annually. The Nature Conservancy. 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/minnesota/newsroom/aeg-report-on-economic-impact-of-ais-in-great-lakes.xml# Egan, D. How invasive species changed the Great Lakes forever. Journal Sentinel. 2012 Retrieved from: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/how-invasive-species-changed-the-great-lakes-forever-b99297128z1-267010971.html Invasive Mussels. National Wildlife Federation.2011. Retrieved from: http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/threats-to-wildlife/invasive-species/invasive-mussels.aspx Invasive Plants. Great Lakes Comission. 2013. Retrieved from: http://glc.org/projects/invasive/ Invasive Species. Great Lakes Commission. 2013. Retrieved from: http://glc.org/projects/invasive/ Invasive Species. EPA Great Lakes. 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/invasive/ McCartney, A. Sea Grant. Great Lakes Network. 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.iisgcp.org/catalog/downlds_09/invasion.pdf Round Goby. Ontario`s Invading Species Awareness Program. 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.invadingspecies.com/invaders/fish/round-goby/ Read More