ISSUE
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Tracking Invasive Species with
Pennsylvania iMapInvasives
Spring 2020 Edition
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR The Pennsylvania iMapInvasives Program would like to take a moment to say “thank you” to the new and continued and readership of our newsletter. In these unprecedented days of a global pandemic, there’s no doubt your inbox is more crowded than ever, and our newsletter is just one more email among others that asks for your attention. We know your time is valuable, and so we thank you for staying up-to-date with our program and reading the stories we feel are important to share. Additionally, starting with this Spring 2020 edition, the Pennsylvania iMapInvasives newsletter will look different in its layout and design compared to previous editions. We felt it was time for a facelift in order to keep engaging with you, our loyal readers. If you have a story you’d like to see highlighted in a future edition of our newsletter, please share it with us by sending an email to imapinvasives@paconserve.org. Best regards,
TABLE OF CONTENTS & CONTRIBUTORS ‘PADDLE WITH A PURPOSE’ – WATER CHESTNUT MANAGEMENT IN UPPER BUCKS COUNTY
THE GOVERNOR’S INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL OF PENNSYLVANIA
Written by Meghan Rogalus, Watershed Specialist
Written by Kristopher Abell, Coordinator
EARLY DETECTION OF INVASIVE SPECIES IN THE LAKE ERIE WATERSHED
ON CELEBRATING SIMPLICITY: THE SECCHI DISK
Written by Joseph Hudson, Watershed Specialist
Written by Mary Walsh, Aquatic Ecologist
ENCOURAGING WORDS “When I discovered kudzu growing near a power line in a neighboring town, I made several calls to various agencies to report it. I found out about the iMapInvasives app and downloaded it to my phone and reported the sighting. The app will make it easier for me to report other invasive species in the future.” -
Jim Valimont, Citizen Scientist
‘PADDLE WITH A PURPOSE’ - WATER CHESTNUT MANAGEMENT IN UPPER BUCKS COUNTY Written by Meghan Rogalus, Watershed Specialist with the Bucks County Conservation District
Lake Towhee is a 50-acre impoundment at the center of a long-term Eurasian water chestnut (Trapa natans) management effort in Bucks County. The lake is the centerpiece of the 552-acre Lake Towhee County Park and outlets to Kimples Creek, which drains to the Tohickon Creek and Lake Nockamixon, Bucks County’s largest lake and focal point of Nockamixon State Park. Eurasian water chestnut is an aquatic invasive plant that impacts lakes by quickly covering the water’s surface, forming dense mats that block sunlight. It also competes with native vegetation for space and nutrients and disrupts the aquatic food web and habitat structure. This plant dramatically impedes recreation because its dense mats clog boat motors and can make paddling difficult. Spiny seedpods pose hazards to swimmers’ feet and even boat trailer tires. Because water chestnut is not native to the United States, our native wildlife cannot keep the population in check. The plant also spreads rapidly because it has multiple means of reproduction – it is an annual plant that primarily spreads by seed and also reproduces from small plant fragments.
Once a population is established, water chestnut management requires a long-term effort. After plants flower annually in late June, they produce about 10-12 seedpods, each of which can remain viable on a lake bottom for up to 12 years! Eurasian water chestnut was first documented on Lake Towhee in July of 2009. By that time, it had already spread to over half of the lake. Since August of 2009, the Bucks County Conservation District (BCCD) has coordinated
an annual event branded ‘Paddle with a Purpose’ and partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Nockamixon State Park, and Delaware Canal State Park. From 2010 on, the event has been timed between mid-June and mid-July to remove plants before the seeds mature. During the event, volunteers are educated on plant identification and impacts, and then paddle (in canoes or kayaks) or slowly motor
At the start of each day of ‘Paddle with a Purpose’, Meghan Rogalus shows volunteers distinguishing characteristics of water chestnut to help them identify the invasive plant in Lake Towhee.
Volunteers work from boats to pull water chestnut plants from Lake Towhee to prevent its spread to other locations by fragmentation.
One consistent limitation to the event’s capacity for more volunteers has been a limited number of boats available for volunteers who did not have their own. However, the recent addition of Delaware Canal State Park as a partner for ‘Paddle with a Purpose’ provided a significant boost in equipment capacity. Educators Katie Martens and Gabie Lent have brought a DCNR truck and trailer with kayaks, paddles, and PFDs for up to 20 volunteers at a time.
Volunteers paddle back to shore with bags full of water chestnut where they are met with help to transfer the bags to a BCCD pick-up truck for transfer to an approved composting location.
to different sections of Lake Towhee to pull as much of the plant from the lake as possible. Some volunteers work with BCCD staff on shore to assist boaters with unloading their quarry. BCCD staff then haul the plant material to a preapproved composting site. This event started small with only about 10 participants, but has steadily grown in support to an event with over 75 annual participants. One key factor to the success and growth of the event was primarily the strength of the partnership between
the county-level organizations and the state agencies. All were committed to preventing an unchecked spread of water chestnut to Lake Nockamixon.
Another major component was the loyal and consistent contribution of local volunteers who returned year after year to assist with the event and help spread the word. Volunteer recognition and appreciation, including a satisfying lunch after a hard half-day’s work, played a key role in developing this following.
The iMapInvasives program has been instrumental in helping BCCD document the collaborative effort of volunteers and watershed partners in managing water chestnut. In particular, the ability to delineate ‘Searched Area’ and ‘Treatment Area’ polygons in the iMapInvasives database has given the BCCD the ability to document the extent of the area covered each year. In the two years that BCCD has delineated these areas in the online mapping platform, we’ve seen incremental progress in pushing the stand of water chestnut “uplake”. BCCD has also been monitoring the Kimples Creek watershed and utilizing the iMapInvasives mobile app and the ‘Water Chestnut Chasers Challenge’ to document presence/absence of water chestnut in the drainage area up and downstream of Lake Towhee. We are grateful for the way the app supports our monitoring efforts in the field.
Screen capture from the iMapInvasives database showing Treatments and Searched Areas on Lake Towhee. This data depicts the efforts of BCCD’s ‘Paddle with a Purpose’ for the past two years and is viewable to anyone that registers for a free iMapInvasives user account.
We find our volunteers have varying drives for returning year after year, but what all participants have in common is a deep love for the outdoors. Here are some testimonials from a few of our loyal, repeat community volunteers: -
“If you love the peacefulness of a day on the lake, surrounded by sounds of croaking frogs and views of gliding great blue herons, you’ll love participating in the annual water chestnut pull on Lake Towhee.” – Tom S.
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This is an event we look forward to every year. We enjoy the outdoors as a family and as a 4-H leader and parent of a boy scout, helping the community and helping to restore the beauty of the lake is something we find very enjoyable. The group of people that come back every year are always so welcoming, so it is a pleasure to attend this event.” – Lorrianne D.
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“It was the gypsy moth infestations of the 1960s that taught me my first lesson about what invasives do to our environment; when our summertime forests looked more like winter and how hot it was those summers without the shade of the trees. Helping out against this lake-killing plant at Lake Towhee is just the latest chapter in a lifelong quest to make my corner of the world a little better.” – Mike M.
Volunteers are all smiles as they return to shore with two very full bags of water chestnut.
Although we consider ‘Paddle with a Purpose’ a volunteer engagement and outreach success, until recently, the upper portion of Lake Towhee continued to have large stands of water chestnut intermingled with dense native vegetation (primarily spatterdock and water shield) that were largely untouched due to access difficulties for volunteers.
pronged approach is critical to make a lasting impact on water chestnut in Lake Towhee and downstream in Lake Nockamixon. As with many group events in 2020, adjustments are being made in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, but volunteer support is as critical as ever to ensure all portions of Lake Towhee are being monitored and controlled.
Thanks in large part to the documented longterm and ongoing commitment of volunteers and BCCD management and staff, BCCD was awarded a Growing Greener grant to build upon existing efforts and fund additional invasive species control and monitoring in the watershed in 2018. Targeted herbicide applications were initiated on the lake in 2019 and more will be completed in the 2020 season. This multi-
For the 12th annual ‘Paddle with a Purpose’ event happening this year, BCCD will provide supplies needed by volunteers to collect water chestnut and deposit it in bags on the shoreline for BCCD staff to pick up and bring to the composting location. After receiving their supplies via mail or contactless delivery, volunteers can conduct safe, sociallydistanced water chestnut pull(s) anytime in the window of July 1 through August 15.
Please visit BCCD’s Facebook page or contact Meghan Rogalus, BCCD’s Watershed Specialist, at mrogalus@bucksccd.org to learn more about how to get involved.
Volunteers who participate must complete a waiver and provide their own boat, PFD and paddle.
Drawing of water chestnut plant, seedpod, and root structure.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Meghan Rogalus is the Watershed Specialist for the Bucks County Conservation District. Her areas of expertise include water quality, harmful algal blooms, watershed management, volunteer coordination, and grant administration. Meghan has coordinated the annual ‘Paddle with a Purpose’ event at Lake Towhee since its inception. In her spare time, Meghan enjoys baking, reading, hiking and paddling. You can contact Meghan by email at mrogalus@bucksccd.org.
Lake Erie Watershed
EARLY DETECTION OF INVASIVE SPECIES IN THE LAKE ERIE WATERSHED Written by Mary Walsh, Aquatic Ecologist with the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program
Transplanted outside their native ranges, invasive species can have population explosions, outcompete native organisms, and be destructive to ecosystems. Large and widespread infestations of invasive species are costly and time-consuming to manage. Early detection of a newly established invasive species with rapid control of the infestation can minimize adverse impacts, as well as greatly reduce the costs of removal or remediation. Natural resource professionals, land owners, and others should be on the lookout for newly arrived invasive species so that timely and efficient responses can occur. To this end, the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program and the Lake Erie Watershed Cooperative Weed Management Area developed educational information about 13 early detection invasive species in the Lake Erie watershed in Pennsylvania and presented it during a March 31, 2020 webinar titled “Be on the Lookout! Report Findings of High Priority Invaders in Northwest Pennsylvania.�
Invasive species determined to be priorities for early detection for the watershed include plants that invade uplands, riparian areas, and waterways. A selection of them are discussed here in this newsletter article. One early detection plant, porcelainberry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata), is a vine which grows densely over native vegetation. Seeds from its berries may be spread to distant locations by birds. Another aggressive invader, lesser celandine (Ficaria verna), becomes abundant and outcompetes native spring ephemerals in forested floodplains. To date, porcelainberry and lesser celandine are each recorded from only a few locations in the Lake Erie watershed in Pennsylvania. In aquatic ecosystems, early detection plants in the Lake Erie watershed in Pennsylvania include two floating plants: European frog-bit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae) and yellow floatingheart (Nymphoides peltata). Both species crowd out native plants and clog waterways. Considered highly invasive, European frog-bit is recorded from only a few
counties in Pennsylvania. European frog-bit is not yet known from the Pennsylvania portion of the Lake Erie watershed; however, yellow floatingheart has been documented in sparse locations in the watershed. The plants both have rounded floating leaves and are spread easily by fragmentation. Additional information about porcelainberry, lesser celandine, European frog-bit, yellow floatingheart, and other early detection invasive species is available from the March 31st webinar recording and associated presentation. Information includes photos, distinguishing characteristics of early detection species, and look-alike species. Any findings of early detection invasive plants can be documented in the iMapInvasives database, which is available online or through the iMapInvasives mobile app. In addition, the Pennsylvania iMapInvasives Program may be contacted for more information about early detection plants and can provide assistance with plant identification. You can email the program at imapinvasives@paconserve.org.
Porcelainberry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata) • • •
Leaves with toothed margins that are lobed or unlobed Berries of mixed colors (white, pink, blue, purple) in upright flat clusters Bark is ridged and furrowed
Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) • • •
Short (2-4 in) plant that grows in mats Bluntly pointed leaves with shallow rounded teeth Yellow flowers with 8-10 petals
European frog-bit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae) • • •
Floating aquatic plant with white three-petal flower Small rounded leaves (up to 2.5 in) are purple underneath Many free-floating roots
Yellow floatingheart (Nymphoides peltata) • • •
Floating aquatic plant with yellow fringed five-petal flower Rounded leaves (2-6 in) are purple underneath with a rounded sinus terminus Long attached roots (3 ft or longer)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mary Walsh coordinates the aquatic zoology program at the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. She works on inventories of aquatic invertebrates and communities, assesses conservation statuses, models species distributions, and tracks invasive species with the iMapInvasives database. When she’s not managing projects with the PNHP, Mary watches thriller series, devours novels, and hikes with her family. You can contact Mary by email at mwalsh@paconserve.org.
Additional Resources for Identification and Characteristics of Early Detection Species:
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Invasive Species Fact Sheets For identification of invasive plants, treatment, and protection for your property, explore the fact sheets provided on the DCNR website. DCNR has deemed the trees, shrubs, vines, herbs, and aquatic plants highlighted in these fact sheets to be invasive on state lands and are managed by DCNR staff.
Pennsylvania’s Field Guide to Aquatic Invasive Species The purpose of this guide is to help people slow the spread of invasive species in Pennsylvania. Therefore, in addition to identification, it includes sections on prevention, reporting, and collecting specimens.
(Former Governor) Ed Rendell
THE GOVERNOR’S INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL OF PENNSYLVANIA Written by Kristopher Abell, Governor’s Invasive Species Council Coordinator
Invasive species have emerged over time as an important problem that affects our economy and environment. In 2004, Governor Ed Rendell issued Executive Order 2004-1 which established the Governor’s Invasive Species Council in Pennsylvania. The order stated that the purpose of forming the Council was to: •
• •
Advise the Governor on and direct the development and implementation of a state non-native invasive species management plan. Provide guidance on prevention, control, and rapid response initiatives. Facilitate coordination among federal, regional, state, and local efforts.
Governor Wolf recently re-established the Council by issuing a new Executive Order in 2017 (EO 2017-07). Currently, the Council is comprised of seven state agencies and 11 non-governmental organizations including: Secretaries of: • • • • •
Agriculture Conservation & Natural Resources Environmental Protection Transportation Health
Executive Directors of: • •
Fish & Boat Commission Game Commission
Representatives from: • • • • • • • • • • •
Western PA Conservancy PennAg Industries Association PA Landscape & Nursery Association PA Sea Grant PA Farm Bureau PA Lake Management Society PA Association of Conservation Districts Penn State University University of Pennsylvania County Commissioners Association of PA PA State Association of Township Supervisors
In July of 2019, the first full-time coordinator, Kristopher Abell, was hired to help guide and facilitate the work of the Council.
The Council holds quarterly meetings on the second Tuesday of March, June, September, and December. The Secretaries of state agencies typically appoint a designee to act on their behalf during quarterly meetings. The meetings are open to the public, and anyone with an interest in invasive species issues impacting Pennsylvania is encouraged to attend and participate. The Council drafted the Commonwealth’s first invasive species management plan in 2009 – “Invaders in the Commonwealth: Pennsylvania Invasive Species Management Plan” – and a revised plan was released in 2016. By executive order, a revised management plan is due every five years. The Council is currently working on four initiatives derived from the 2016 management plan. The first is the design, creation, and funding of a statewide invasive species management program. This program will be modeled after successful programs established in other states, primarily the Partnerships for Invasive Species Management (PRISM) program that exists in New York (state). In brief, this program would divide Pennsylvania into 6-8 regions that share similar invasive species concerns. Each region will have a coordinator (paid for with state funds), and will be responsible for organizing partnerships between local government and non-governmental
One of the Council’s initiatives is to create a PRISM-like program in Pennsylvania, similar to the program that exists in New York State.
organizations. These partnerships are then responsible for determining their specific regional invasive species priorities and applying for state grants to manage these priorities. The second Council initiative is to create an official invasive species list for Pennsylvania that covers all taxonomic groups, and to adopt an assessment protocol to determine priority ranking and inclusion of species on this list. The Third Council initiative is to utilize the internet to inform and engage the public
about past accomplishments and current plans/activities the Council is engaged in to address the threat of invasive species in Pennsylvania. The fourth Council initiative is to update the Aquatic Invasive Species Rapid Response Plan for Pennsylvania. For more information about the Governor’s Invasive Species Council, please visit the Council’s webpage where you can learn about upcoming meetings, review past meeting minutes, read the Pennsylvania Invasive Species Management Plan, and more.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kristopher Abell is the Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Governor’s Invasive Species Council. In addition to helping the Council achieve its current initiatives, Kris is working on several other invasive species projects including establishing a weed free forage and gravel certification program, phasing out the use of invasive phragmites in waste water treatment plants, participating on the ONE Health Task Force, and consulting on the Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee. Kris holds a BS in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a MS in Ecology and Environmental Science from the University of Maine, Orono, and a PhD in Entomology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Kris has a love for the outdoors and a strong conservation ethic that fuels his work as Coordinator for the Council. You can contact Kris by email at krabell@pa.gov.
ON CELEBRATING SIMPLICITY: THE SECCHI DISK Written by Joseph Hudson, Watershed Specialist with the Erie County Conservation District
Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania iMapInvasives program announced two initiatives to employ the general public in new and innovative ways to track the occurrence and spread of invasive species. The Water Chestnut Chasers Challenge returns in July, and a new Invasive Species Scavenger Hunt will take place in August. Both programs rely on the participation of citizen scientists, and the utilization of the iMapInvasives mobile phone app. The mobile app allows for the grassroots gathering of scientific information, and reminds us of some of the history and results of similar efforts. This past April marks the 155th birthday of the Secchi disk (pronounced sek-ee), created by Father Angelo Secchi. The modest black and white patterned circle has been used to interpret basic water quality ever since, and
has become a hallmark tool of water and natural resource conservation. The first Secchi disk was 43 centimeters in diameter and plain white. In 1899, engineer and microbiologist George Chandler Whipple standardized the size and added the familiar black and white quarters to the design. Pietro Angelo Secchi was born in Reggio Emilia in northern Italy, June 28th of 1818. He entered the seminary and was ordained in 1847. Due to the Roman Revolution of 1848, he and the rest of his order were forced to flee the country, which provided him the opportunity to teach both in the United
Kingdom as well as in the United States. In the U.S., he became a student and lifelong friend to Matthew Fontaine Maury, the first Director of the United States Naval Observatory in Washington. Following his return to Rome in 1850, Secchi served as the head of the Observatory of the College at the Pontifical Gregorian University for the rest of his life. Secchi’s contributions to astronomy cannot be understated. Secchi is sometimes called the “Jesuit father of Astrophysics”, and is better known for his work in astronomy than in water quality. He made the first survey of the spectra of stars and suggested that they be
classified according to their spectral type. He discovered several comets and mapped portions of both the moon as well as Mars. His chief interest was the sun, and he made many important discoveries about its behavior and structure. Indeed, Secchi was one of the first scientists to assert that the sun itself was a star. He was extremely talented in his studies of climate and weather as well. His meteorological work led him to create the first daily weather service in Italy, a service that he would later expand on in France. After even just a few of these contributions, the Secchi disk seems almost a petty footnote in Secchi’s career. On April 20th, 1865, Pope Pius the IX boarded his personal yacht, the Immacolata Concezione (last vessel of the papal navy, normally used for fighting pirates) for a special demonstration. One of his astronomers had, in his study of the stellar spectra, made an interesting observation on the behavior of light transmission and dispersion through water. Allegedly to the pope’s delight, Secchi lowered the disk from the side of the Immacolata Concezione until it disappeared from sight, and then elevated it until it appeared again. The first Secchi depth had been taken, and the disk has been used to read water turbidity ever since. The Secchi disk today is still a simple and lowcost method of measuring water clarity. It can be quickly and easily explained to citizen scientists, which directly resulted in the
Father Pietro Angelo Secchi
creation of the Secchi Dip-In program at Kent State University. Now managed by the North American Lake Management Society, the Secchi Dip-In has gathered nearly 40 years of data on more than 7,000 different bodies of water. The use of the simple disk has put relatively standardized testing in the hands of people around the world. The image of the Secchi disk is internationally recognized as a symbol of conservation science. For those not already familiar with the Secchi disk, it may come as a surprise to know there is a distinct relationship between water clarity and the presence of invasive species. The impact of sedimentation on water quality and the respiration of aquatic organisms is generally well understood. Further, particles in water also absorb sunlight, causing an increase in water temperature, which results in lowered dissolved oxygen levels. Bodies of water with increased turbidity therefore pose a greater threat to native species by subjecting them to further habitat stresses – which put them at a greater disadvantage in the competition with invasive species. Beyond that, recent research shows a direct link between increasing turbidity and the spread of invasive species, relating to the capacity of invaders to transform habitats and increase eutrophication. Secchi depth readings can aid in monitoring the spread of various invasive species at a citizen science level, so long as the relationship between specific organisms and water clarity is
Citizen scientists participate in the annual Great American Secchi-Dip-In.
understood. A boom in phytoplankton might result in greater turbidity, while a boom in zooplankton might result in greater water clarity. Certainly, the introduction of invasive zebra and quagga mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. bugensis) to the Great Lakes watershed has had a widespread impact on Secchi depths. Increased turbidity in water bodies has even been linked to the spread of
terrestrial invasive species. One wonders, now, what Secchi might think of the internet, of global positioning satellites, or smartphones. iMapInvasives has been successfully used to track the introduction, occurrence, and spread of various invasive aquatic and terrestrial species. Much like the Secchi disk of 1865, it is simple and can be
explained and used without difficulty by citizen scientists. It puts standardized monitoring in the hands of the general public, creating a virtual army of observers. The impact of successful widespread application of measurable scientific observations cannot be understated. This concept is essential to the success of iMapInvasives, and it falls to us to see it to fruition.
Monument to Pietro Angelo Secchi in the Villa Borghese Park in Rome. Pietro Secchi, who lived in Italy during the 1800s, is recognized as the founder of the method of using a Secchi transparency disk to measure water clarity.
Secchi was certainly not the first person to drop something into the water and watch it disappear. But the amount of research he put into it, and the rigorous testing standards he developed for its use, would forever put his name on the method. It’s certainly worth taking a few moments to celebrate the birthday of a simple flat disk, and to purposefully apply ourselves to the success of its descendants.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph Hudson is the Watershed Specialist at the Erie County Conservation District. A conservation scientist and engineer, Joseph has worked for more than 20 years to improve natural resources management in Pennsylvania. Joseph is an adjunct professor at the graduate level, traveling lecturer, and has contributed to a number of scholarly articles and programs. He also serves on the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Lake Management Society. Professional interests include Pennsylvania ecology, habitat management, and native species protection. You can contact Joseph by email at jhudson@erieconservation.com.
INVASIVE SPECIES SPOTLIGHT: PARROT FEATHER
Parrot feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum), also called Brazilian watermilfoil, is an herbaceous aquatic perennial and member of the watermilfoil family. It gets its name from its bright green feather-like leaves which are whorled around the stem and form thick suffocating mats. Only female parrot feather plants have been found in North America.
deteriorated. They are 1.5-3.5 cm (0.6-1.4 in) long with 20-30 divisions per leaf.
Flowers: Small (1.5 mm [0.06 in]) white-pinkish flowers appear between the leaf axils of female plants in the spring.
Stems/Roots: Long unbranched stems reach
are the most distinct characteristics of parrot feather, as they grow up to 30 cm (12 in) above the water surface and resemble small fir trees.
heights of 30 cm (12 in) above the water’s surface. When attached to a bank, they can extend out several yards over the water’s surface.
Parrot feather is hardy but prefers shallow, nutrient-rich, and slow-moving waters. It is common in shallow water as a rooted plant but can also be found as a floating plant in deeper nutrient-enriched lakes.
A close relative, Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) is easily mistaken for the submerged leaves of parrot feather. Other look-a-likes include bladderworts, hornworts, mermaid weeds, water crowfoots, and other leafy milfoils. The emergent stems and leaves
Since all parrot feather plants in the United States are female, they spread exclusively by fragmentation. Therefore, human activities such as water gardening, boating, and fishing can easily spread fragments to new locations where they can grow into new plants.
Leaves: Emergent leaves are robust, vibrant green, feathery, and covered with a waxy coating. They are arranged around the stem in whorls of 4-6 and are 2.5-5 cm (1-2 in) long with 10-18 leaflet pairs. Leaves become more closely arranged toward the growing tips of the plant. Limp, submerged leaves are brownish to reddish, often appearing
Informational video “Beauty Contained: Preventing Invasive Species from Escaping Water Gardens”
Native to South America in the Amazon River, parrot feather was introduced as a garden plant in the 1800s. It has since spread throughout the United States and can be found in all Mid-Atlantic states.
Note: Distribution data for this species may have changed since the publication of the Mid-Atlantic Field Guide to Aquatic Invasive Species (2016), the source of information for this description.
Parrot feather forms thick mats that can
shade out native plant and algae species, impact water flow, clog recreational waterways and irrigation canals, and alter the physical and chemical characteristics of lakes and streams.
Video: Beauty Contained: Preventing Invasive Species from Escaping Water Gardens
Information for this species profile comes from the “Mid-Atlantic Field Guide to Aquatic Invasive Species (2016)”.
BOTH PAGES: Parrot feather infestations
1.
Cover Photo: Patch of water chestnut covers Lake Towhee: Photo provided by Photo credits: Meghan Rogalus 2. Photo on Letter to Editor page: Credit: Aaron Jewitt 3. Photo accompanying Encouraging Words section: Photo provided by Jim Valimont 4. Photo: Meghan Rogalus shows volunteers how to ID WC: Photo provided by Meghan Rogalus 5. Photo: Volunteers pull WC from Lake Towhee while in boats: Credit: Ashlin Brooks 6. Photo: Volunteers paddle to shore with bags of WC: Credit: Amy Jewitt 7. Photo: Volunteers all smiles: Credit: Meghan Rogalus 8. Drawing: Water chestnut plant, seedpod, and root structure: Credit: UFL Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, Gainesville, FL:
15. Photo: About the Author (Early Detection of Invasive Species story): Photo provided by Mary Walsh 16. Photo: (Former Governor) Ed Rendell: Credit: Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice:
https://www.phillyvoice.com/ed-rendelltalks-patriots-cheating-eagles-chances-iwant-revenge/ 17. Photo: About the Author (Governor’s Invasive Species Council story): Photo provided by Kristopher Abell 18. Photo: Secchi disk: Credit: Mps197:
https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/retrievingsecchi-depth-with-landsat-8/ 19. Photo: Pietro Angelo Secchi:
20.
http://www.lakestewardsofmaine.org/m ciap/herbarium/WaterChestnut.php 9.
10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
Photo: About the Author (Paddle with a Purpose story): Photo provided by Meghan Rogalus Graphic: Map of Lake Erie Watershed: Created by Kierstin Carlson, WPC/PNHP Photo: Porcelainberry: Credit: James Miller Photo: Lesser celandine: Credit: Leslie J. Mehrhoff Photo: European frog-bit: Credit: Leslie J. Mehrhoff Photo: Yellow floatingheart: Credit: Shaun Winterton
21.
22. 23.
http://www.reggioreport.it/2018/10/tutt i-i-colori-delle-stelle-grande-mostra-peril-bicentenario-di-angelo-secchi-gesuitae-fondatore-della-moderna-astrofisica/ Photo: Great American Secchi Dip-In: https://coastalwatershed.org/event/great-americansecchi-dip/ Photo: Monument to Pietro Angelo Secchi: Credit: K.E. Webster: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/M onument-to-Pietro-Angelo-Secchi-in-theVilla-Borghese-Park-in-Rome-PietroSecchi-who_fig9_262024706 Photo: About the Author (Secchi Disk story): Photo provided by Joseph Hudson Clipart: Hand drawing of Secchi disk: http://cleanwater.uwex.edu/pubs/clipart/lakeart.sec chidi.htm
24. Photo: Parrot feather (1): Credit: Vilseskogen via Flickr:
http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/imagelib /imgdetails.php?imgid=293996 25. Screenshot: Beauty Contained video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrL hM4woCpE&feature=youtu.be 26. Photos: Parrot feather (2 & 3): Credit: Sheldon Navie:
https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds /data/media/Html/myriophyllum_aquati cum.htm 27. Photos: Parrot (4 & 5): Credit: Trevor James:
https://www.weedbusters.org.nz/weed -information/weed-list/parrotsfeather/