Prairie Research Institute scientists are working with collaborators to provide education for boaters and harbormasters about how invasive aquatic plants spread, and for property owners interested planting native species along shorelines.
The new outreach to recreational boaters is focused on kayaks, standup paddle boards, and canoes — a shift from past aquatic invasive species prevention focused on topics relevant to motorized boats like cleaning motors and propellers, said Katherine O’Reilly, an aquatic invasive species engagement research scientist. The rising popularity of these non-motorized vessels in the last decade or two means more chances for aquatic invasive species to spread through these means than in the past.
"You just need a tiny fragment of a plant to stick to your boat to be introduced somewhere else and it can start from that fragment,” O’Reilly noted. “So, they are really good at moving and it doesn't take much."
One challenge is that aquatic plants are difficult to identify and most people aren’t familiar with them, O’Reilly said.
"I think a lot of people — and I say this even as a trained fish biologist," she said with a laugh, "when they see an aquatic plant they think, 'OK, it's a weed. A weed is a weed.' And they might have a bunch of green stuff attached to their boat at the end of a day.”
The project, part of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources program that manages aquatic invasive species, is a two-year effort that builds on 30 years of outreach to recreational boaters. It is funded by a $400,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant awarded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
The Illinois Natural History Survey and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant team led by O'Reilly and Gregory Hitzroth, who specializes in aquatic invasive species outreach, are working with partners at Loyola University Chicago and the Chicago Botanic Garden on the project.
One invasive species that is continuing to spread is Eurasian watermilfoil, which has been in Illinois for nearly 100 years. Hydrilla, which was recently found in DuPage County, is a newer threat. Invasive aquatic plants like Eurasian watermilfoil and hydrilla can damage the ecosystems they spread to by out-competing native plant species, reducing fish populations, and overtaking local lakes and streams, which also negatively impacts local outdoor recreation by making boating and fishing more difficult.
Another part of the project involves starry stonewart, an invasive species of algae that has recently been found for the first time in Lake Michigan harbors around Chicago. By combining Loyola University research on the spread of starry stonewort in Chicago harbors with the Sea Grant team’s experience in outreach, the grant will support a workshop for harbormasters and natural resource managers to provide them with tools to identify the algae and take action to help control it.
The project will also promote the use of native species, which helps to control invasives. The project team is working with the Chicago Botanic Garden and social scientists to develop a guide for landowners and land managers who want to use native plant species on their shorelines. The guide draws from a database comprised of decades of data from the Chicago Botanic Garden’s experimental ponds to provide useful information about native aquatic vegetation and best practices.
The Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign provides scientific expertise and transformative research to the people of Illinois and beyond. PRI is home to the five state scientific surveys: the Illinois Natural History Survey, Illinois State Archaeological Survey, Illinois State Geological Survey, Illinois State Water Survey, and Illinois Sustainable Technology Center.
MEDIA CONTACT
Katherine O’Reilly, keo@illinois.edu