Invasive Terrestrial Wildlife Species Influencing US Ecosystems - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Invasive Terrestrial Wildlife Species Influencing US Ecosystems

Michael Schwartz Randi Lesagonicz John Kilgo

I. Framework for Understanding Invasive Terrestrial Wildlife (What is an ITW?) – Operational Definitions

• II. Review of Invasive Species by State and

Ecoregion / Available Resources

• III. Early Detection Essential – New Tools

(Genomics and eDNA!)

Outline

Framework for Understanding Invasive Terrestrial Wildlife (What is an ITW?)

Invasive Terrestrial Wildlife – All vertebrates in the subgroups of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals that were introduced by non-natural means into the United States .

No Yes Yes

What is an Invader: Does Time Matter?

Greenhouse Frog 1875 Feral Hogs 1539 Collared Dove 1980 Wolf / Domestic Dog 40,000-12,000 ybp Polynesian Rat 400 Feral horses Mid-1500s

What is an Invader?: Does Facilitated Range Expansion Create An Invasive Species?

• On Invasive list

in AK and GA

• Transplanted

into FL, GA

• Natural Expansion

Continuous vs Discrete

What is an Invader?: Does an Invasive Species Need to Have A Disjoint Distribution?

Only CO considers them invasive, and USGS

To be an Invasive does it need to :

• 1. Have Impact? (Consequence of the

invasion?)

• 2. Be Expanding?

What is an Invader?: Other Considerations

Florida Hottentot Teal (From Africa / Madagascar) Burmese Python

Framework for Understanding Invasive Terrestrial Wildlife (What is an ITW?)

Invasive Terrestrial Wildlife – All vertebrates in the subgroups of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals that were introduced by non-natural means into the United States .

• Post Pleistocene Time
• Not Including Facilitated Range Expansion
• Considered Invasive Regardless of Impact
• Considered Invasive Regardless of Trend of Expansion
• Considered Invasive if Expansion Crossed A Discrete

Geographic or Ecological Barrier

Why do We Care?

Human Expense

See Pimentel 2002

Human Expense

• Estimated 1.1 billion/yr damages

(Pimentel et al. 1999)

• Vectors for >50 human and livestock

diseases

• Estimated $800M in

agricultural damage

• Aviation hazard

Local Species Extinctions

• 1741 introduced to Aleutian Chain
• 1910-1940 Fox farming
• After removal (39 islands)

seabird response - increase

• f nesting birds 5 fold in

10 years (Ebbert and Byrd 2000)

• Aleutian Canada Goose went

from 1000 in 1975 to 35,000 in 2000)

• Decimated Hawaii birds
• 130+ spp. (11 not endangered)
• Harper and Bunbury (2015)

Burmese Python

Invasion and Impact: Expanding and Large Per Capita Effect (Keystone) –A Deadly Combination

Road surveys totaling 56,971 km from 2003– 2011 documented:

• 99.3% decrease in the frequency of raccoon
• bservations,
• 98.9% decrease opossum
• 87.5% decrease bobcat observations
• 100% decrease in all rabbit species

Ecosystem Engineers / Keystone

Introduced:

1899 1539

Damage: burrowing, tunneling levees

road bed, dock burrowing, crops: sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum

Cost: unknown (many multimillion $ projects)

US$1.5B / yr Crop damage, prey on livestock Damage native plant roots

I. Framework for Understanding Invasive Terrestrial Wildlife (What is an ITW?) – Operational Definitions

• II. Review of Invasive Species by State and

Ecoregion / Available Resources

• III. Early Detection Essential – New Tools

(Genomics and eDNA!)

Outline

State by State Review

• Googled “State name” and “invasive species” (not including
• ther commonwealths or protectorates)
• Compiled a list of all species considered invasive by state and

included common name, scientific name, taxa affiliation, origin, introduction method, location of release/invasion point, comments, map of current geographic range, and current ecosystem

State by State Review

• 117 web pages (75 unique sites)
• 45 State pages
• 6 Federal pages
• 13 University sites
• Remainder were NGO, County, or Other
• 464 Species on the list

Federal

Federal

State

NGO

NatureServe – imapInvasives Initiative

Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystems Health (University of Georgia)

University

State by State Review

(Evidence of reporting bias / different operational definitions)

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55

Bin (Number of Terrestrial Invasives) > Count Florida (268) Montana (113) Alaska (55) California Many with 7 (SC, NH, OK)

Are there some ecoregions / USFS lands where invasive species are more prevalent?

• Unique species list was created from the state list
• Randomized list - top 10 species per taxa affiliation (mammals,

amphibian, reptile, bird, included 2 keystone)

• GIS data was downloaded from IUCN red list’s maps and from

the National Gap Analysis program by USGS

• Many maps in progress for reptiles and amphibians in US

(IUCN)

• Sample of 34 species.

Burmese Python – Exotic Range Not Mapped (Excluded from our analysis)

European Hare – IUCN (but known in AK, HI, CA)

European Collared Dove

Ecoregion (Omernik 1987) Level 1

• NORTH AMERICAN DESERTS
• MEDITERRANEAN CALIFORNIA
• EASTERN TEMPERATE FORESTS
• GREAT PLAINS
• MARINE WEST COAST FOREST
• TROPICAL WET FORESTS
• NORTHERN FORESTS
• NORTHWESTERN FORESTED

MOUNTAINS

• SOUTHERN SEMIARID

HIGHLANDS

• TEMPERATE SIERRAS
• TAIGA
• TUNDRA

Ranked Order of Ecoregions Impacted By Invaders (High to Low)

500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000

North American Deserts Mediterranean California

Invasives per Ecoregion Scaled by Area of Ecoregion

Area Invasives

Invasives per Ecoregion Scaled by Area of Ecoregion

Area Invasives

North American Deserts Mediterranean California

500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000

Tropical Wet Forest

Tropical Wet Forest

Invasives per Ecoregion Scaled by Area of Ecoregion

Area Invasives

North American Deserts Mediterranean California

500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000

Tundra Taiga

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000

Marine West Coast Northern Forests Eastern Temperate Forest Great Plains Northwestern Forested Mts

North American Deserts Tundra Taiga Mediterranean California Tropical Wet Forest

Southern Semiarid Highlands Temperate Sierras

Invasives per Ecoregion Scaled by Area of Ecoregion

National Forest Lands - Highlights

• Invasive Terrestrial Species on All 285 USFS Units
• Starlings, House Mouse, and House Sparrow – most common

(283, 285, and 282 units)

• Feral Pigs on 101 units
• Nutria are in 4 regions

(knocking on door of 3 more)

Many Efforts to Map Terrestrial Animal Invasions Most are Local or are Not Sustained (Yet, another Server Error) Best Long Term Databases are IUCN (Europe Bias) or GAP (Incomplete) New Tools and Techniques are Available to Detect Terrestrial Invasions Research is needed to Identify where threat is greatest by USFS unit.

Conclusions

I. Framework for Understanding Invasive Terrestrial Wildlife (What is an ITW?) – Operational Definitions

• II. Review of Invasive Species by State and

Ecoregion / Available Resources

• III. Early Detection Essential – New Tools

(Genomics and eDNA!)

Outline

DNA from target species sloughed into stream Filter stream water Laboratory analysis to detect DNA of target species

eDNA Detection

Analyze results

Amplify unique DNA barcodes from each species

Pool DNA barcodes Amplify unique DNA barcodes from each species

Attach barcodes to magnetic beads Pool DNA barcodes

Attach barcodes to magnetic beads Pool DNA barcodes

eDNA sample

Capture target DNA (Eliminate non-target DNA)

eDNA sample

bacterial DNA

Sequence captured DNA

✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

eDNA and Genomics = Biodiversity Panel

Common_Name eDNA_002 eDNA_005 eDNA_008 eDNA_009 eDNA_010 eDNA_011 Stonefly - Golden Stone Mayfly - Western Green Drake Northern Pike 3 Cutthroat Trout* 7 10 8 3 Pacific Salmon 2 14 12 11 6 Rainbow Trout - inland 2 4 13 5 4 2 Whitefish* 4 8 12 10 4 Brown Trout 5 4 8 4 3 Bull Trout* 3 5 6 4 2 Brook Trout 5 4 3 2 Lake Trout 3 2 3 Grayling Slimy Sculpin (SCCC) Columbia Spotted Frog RM Tailed Frog Idaho Giant Salamander North American River Otter 2 2 American Mink 2 3 3 Beaver 4 Human 2 2 Osprey Nutria

Annamite striped rabbit Small-toothed Ferret-badger Truong Son munjtac Serow

LDNA?

DNA Demonstrates Reinvasion not Survival in NZ

Many Efforts to Map Terrestrial Animal Invasions Most are Local or are Not Sustained (Yet, another Server Error) Best Long Term Databases are IUCN (Europe Bias) or GAP (Incomplete) New Tools and Techniques are Available to Detect Terrestrial Invasions Research is needed to Identify where threat is greatest by USFS unit.

Conclusions

Databases Matter! Need Standardization

Monk parakeet

Sum Stats

• Approximately 50,000 invasive species were introduced to the US from human

movements, commerce, and trade (http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=invasive.main)

• Feral hogs were considered the most abundant, free-ranging, introduced ungulate in the

USA in 1991 (http://feralhogs.tamu.edu/files/2010/05/FERAL-HOGS-IN-ALABAMA.pdf)

• Property owners in PA reported $89,400.00 in damage from European Starlings in 2006

and $26,886.00 was spent to mitigate damages (http://invasivespeciescouncil.com/Profiles_Birds.aspx)

• There are over 1700 species of all taxonomic types (vertebrate, invertebrate, plant, and

disease) that are invasive to California and could be introduced and eventually be a problem (http://iscc.ca.gov/docs/californiainvasivespecieslist.pdf)

• More than 500 fish and wildlife nonnative species have been found in FL

(http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/)

• Efforts to control invasive species in the US run $137 billion each year

(http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/colorado/color ados-top-5-invasive-species.xml)

• About 5,000 species of plants, animals, and microbes are recognized in the US as invasive

(http://ohiodnr.gov/invasivespecies)

• Invasive species are the 2nd largest threat to native biodiversity

(http://www.usm.edu/gcrl/events/docs/science.cafe.invasive.species.201410.pdf)

California: The first nutria imported into the United States went to Elizabeth Lake, California, for fur farming in 1899 (Evans, 1970). Although this attempt at fur farming was not successful, subsequent importations must have been made because by 1940, California had a small feral population of nutria (Schitoskey and others, 1972). Conditions in California are generally not favorable for nutria in the wild. A small eradication program was successful and Deems and Pursley (1978) report they were eradicated by 1978. Louisiana: First introduction near New Orleans in the early 1930s, but they were quickly trapped out (Evans, 1970; Bailey and Heidt, 1978). Brought back into Louisiana in 1938 for fur farming; the nutria escaped in 1940 by burrowing out of pens and climbing over fences damaged by a hurricane (Evans, 1970; Lowery, 1974; Bailey and Heidt, 1978). It is feral in the State and is controlled by trapping and alligators (Lowery, 1974; Deems and Pursley, 1978; Wolfe and Bradshaw, 1987). eorgia: Nutria were introduced into Georgia

• r weed control by State and Federal agencies

vans, 1970, 1983). They are now feral there eems and Pursley, 1978).

Means of Introduction: The cottonmouth from Boulder, Colorado, was intentionally introduced "by a farmer to scare away fishermen" (Livo et al., 1998). The Montgomery County, Kansas cottonmouths also were introduced intentionally (Collins, 1993). The specimen from Massachusetts may have been a released pet

• r escapee (Cardoza et al., 1993). It is not clear if the formerly

established colonies of A. piscivorus from Livingston County, Missouri, were introduced or natural (Gloyd and Conant, 1990).

Not So Fun Fact