Mississippi Lake Invasive Plants Monitoring

On July 10th, 2016, members of the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists participated in an invasive aquatic plant  monitoring exercise on Mississippi Lake.  In the morning participants attended a short presentation, at the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority office, on invasive plant species possibly present in the lake. They were also briefed on sampling protocol and were provided with field kits.  Participants then split into groups and went to five different locations on Mississippi Lake (Kinch Bay, Kings Bay, McGibbons Bay, McEwen Bay and Innisville Rapids) to search for invasive species. Four species of invasive plants were found, including Curly-leaf pondweed, European frogbit, Purple loosestrife and Invasive Phragmites.  This should not be considered an exhaustive list of all invasive plants that occur in Mississippi Lake.  The purpose of this monitoring exercise was to increase awareness through community involvement and to hopefully inspire similar initiatives in the future.

Invasive Plants Found
Curly-Leaf Pondweed (Potamogeton crispus) Locations: McEwen Bay & Innisville Rapids Abundance: ScatteredCurly-leaf pondweed European Frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae)Locations: McGibbons Bay, McEwen Bay, Kings Bay, Kinch Bay Abundance: Scattered; Dense in Kinch BayFrogbit
Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)Location: McGibbons Bay Abundance: Single PlantPurple loosestrife Invasive Phragmites (Phragmites australis subsp. australis)Location: Innisville RapidsAbundance: Single PlantInvasive Phragmites

Volunteers also returned with samples of native plants, including coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum), northern watermilfoil (Myriophyllum sibiricum), sago pondweed (Stuckenia pectinata), common waterweed (Elodea canadensis), common duckweed (Lemna minor), star duckweed (Lemna trisulca), flat-stemmed pondweed (Potamogeton zosteriformis), water marigold (Bidens beckii), spotted joe-pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum) and pickerel weed (Pontederia cordata).  In many instances, northern watermilfoil and coontail were mistaken for European watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum), and common waterweed was mistaken for hydrilla.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks go, to Jim Tye of the Mississippi Lake Association for organizing the event and bringing all parties together; to Cliff Bennett and David Garcia of the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists, for promoting the initiative within their organization; and to the Mississippi Lake landowners who allowed volunteers to launch canoes from their properties.

 

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