Invasive Species - What's New on NISIC's Site

Discover Life in America, the nonprofit research partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is inviting the public to participate in its latest project, Smokies Most Wanted, an initiative that allows visitors to help conserve park species by recording sightings of animals, plants and other organisms from their smartphones. Powered by the nature app iNaturalist, Smokies Most Wanted encourages park visitors to document any organism they encounter while hiking, camping, or otherwise enjoying the park — from birds to wildflowers, insects to lichens. DLiA then uses the data collected through iNaturalist for a variety of functions, like recording new park species or detecting invasive ones, learning about under-studied or rare species, and mapping species across the park.

For more information about the Smokies Most Wanted project, visit dlia.org/smokiesmostwanted — or browse the list of Smokies Most Wanted species at inaturalist.org/guides/9115.

Terrestrial invasive plants are expected to shift their ranges in response to changing climate. This tool provides lists of terrestrial invasive plants expected to expand their ranges into the chosen county or state with climate change by 2040-2060.

The Joro spider, native from Japan, first arrived stateside around 2013 and has since spread across the state and Southeast. But new research from the University of Georgia suggests the invasive arachnids could spread through most of the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. Joros don't appear to have much of an effect on local food webs or ecosystems, said Andy Davis, corresponding author of the study and a research scientist in the Odum School of Ecology. They may even serve as an additional food source for native predators like birds.
See also: Like it or not, Joro spiders are here to stay (News - Oct 26, 2020)

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is offering training for members of the public to become a certified Wyoming aquatic invasive species inspector. The free, day-long sessions are offered throughout the spring in statewide locations and are open to anyone interested in preventing the spread of AIS through watercraft inspection. The training includes information on basic biology of invasive species, the impacts of AIS, transport vectors and distribution of AIS. It includes classroom instruction, a question-and-answer session and a hands-on watercraft inspection exercise. Those who complete the class will be certified to inspect watercraft.

The United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of citrus canker disease in a nursery in South Carolina. The nursery sells plants to consumers through online sales. Citrus canker causes citrus leaves and fruit to drop prematurely, and results in lesions on citrus leaves, stems and fruit. Fruit infected with the bacterium that causes citrus canker (Xanthomonas axonopodis) is safe to eat, but it may not be marketable because of the lesions. Citrus canker is not harmful to people or animals.

Together with state partners, APHIS is working to collect and destroy the plants shipped to consumers in 11 states and trace plants that were sold to determine additional locations of potentially infected plants. The states include Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington. If you live in one of the 11 states and bought citrus plants online that came from South Carolina between August 5, 2021, and February 17, 2022, please keep your plants for now. If you purchased a plant or plants that might be infected, APHIS and/or state officials will contact you in the next several days to collect and properly dispose of any plants purchased from the nursery. You can also call your local USDA office.

Invasive tegu lizards from South America are currently established in four locations in Florida and negatively impact native, ground-nesting animals in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Two newly published research studies from the U.S. Geological Survey show that, depending on their size and body condition, tegu lizards could survive in cooler, northern climates.

The Argentine black and white tegu is a large lizard from South America currently inhabiting the Florida counties of Charlotte, Hillsborough, Miami Dade and St. Lucie. Tegus are introduced to the U.S. through the pet trade and then likely released from captivity into the environment. "Several lines of evidence from recent USGS research studies published from 2018 to 2021 now provide clear indication for managers that the entire southeast portion of the United States is at risk of tegu establishment if lizard releases continue unabated," said Amy Yackel Adams, a USGS research ecologist.

The global increase in biological invasions is placing growing pressure on the management of ecological and economic systems. However, the effectiveness of current management expenditure is difficult to assess due to a lack of standardised measurement across spatial, taxonomic and temporal scales.

Research Highlights:

• Since 1960, management for biological invasions totalled at least $95.3 billion.
• Damage costs from invasions were substantially higher ($1130.6 billion).
• Pre-invasion management spending is 25-times lower than post-invasion.
• Management and damage costs are increasing rapidly over time.
• Proactive management substantially reduces future costs at the trillion-$ scale.

The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI) has initiated a new social media campaign to raise awareness of the dangers cogongrass poses to the state. With agriculture and natural ecosystems at risk, ADAI is calling on Alabamians to recognize this threat and share the information.

Cogongrass has now infested more than 75 percent of Alabama's counties. This federally regulated noxious weed was introduced in the U.S. in 1911 as packing material in the port of Mobile. In the decades since, it has greatly expanded and become more dangerous. Visit www.alcogongrass.com to learn how to spot cogongrass and report it when it blooms again in the spring.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is awarding more than $16.3 million to 64 projects with states, universities, and other partners to strengthen our programs to protect animal health. Ensuring the health of animals helps protect and preserve U.S. export markets and keeping foreign animal diseases out of the U.S. helps us expand export opportunities for rural America to more and better markets.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) supports The Entomological Society of America's (ESA) initiative to replace the common name for L. dispar and participated in the effort to identify a new common name for this pest. APHIS continues to support ESA’s work on the “Better Common Names Project.” To prevent its spread, APHIS regulates the European gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar dispar) that is found in the Northeastern United States. While we support ESA’s initiative, we face a significant challenge in implementing the name change at this time because of a related pest of concern: the Asian gypsy moth.

To align with ESA’s initiative and to ensure the effectiveness of our regulatory program, APHIS is exploring options for addressing the naming challenge for the Asian gypsy moth. To do this, APHIS will work with its international partners to explore options. This is critical before APHIS can implement the name change for the European gypsy moth to the newly announced common name “spongy moth.” Once a name change can be applied to the Asian gypsy moth, APHIS will begin to incorporate the new common names into our regulatory language and outreach products.