Geography Connections to Workshop Concepts
Origins (Geography Standards #1, #16)
Distribution (Geography Standards #1, #8)
Movement (Geography Standards #14)
Consequences (Geography Standards #15, #17)
Solutions (Geography Standards #16, #18)
Workshop Concepts
Geography Standards
Workshop Information

 

Origins
Students can create and use maps showing where exotic aquatics came from.
  • Sea lamprey is native to the coastal regions of both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
  • Zebra mussels are native to the Caspian Sea region of Asia.
  • Eurasian watermilfoil are from Europe.
  • Purple loosestrife is a wetland plant from Europe and Asia.

(from A Field Guide to Aquatic Exotic Plants and Animals, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 1992)

Geography Standard #1
The World in Spatial Terms
How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies
to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.

Students can investigate which regions have the potential of being a suitable habitat for exotic aquatics.

The new availability of Alaskan oil on the world market will open the doors for more ANS introduction via ballast water from ports of northeast Asia and elsewhere in the world. Of considerable concern is the transmission of fish pathogens and parasites from foreign ports, which could have a devastating impact on Alaskan fisheries (Biological Invasions, Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, 1998).

Geography Standard #16
 Environment and Society
The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.
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Distribution
Students can create and use maps showing where exotic aquatics are located now.
  • Sea lamprey entered the Great Lakes through the Welland Canal about 1921.
  • Zebra mussels were first discovered in Lake St. Clair near Detroit in 1988, and have spread to the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River, and many inland rivers.
  • Eurasian watermilfoil spread westward into inland lakes and reached Midwestern states between the 1950s and 1980s.
  • Purple loosestrife is now in 40 states and all Canadian border provinces.

(from A Field Guide to Aquatic Exotic Plants and Animals, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 1992)

Geography Standard #1
The World in Spatial Terms
How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies
to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.

Students can examine factors that affect why some locations are more suitable for species establishment than other locations.

Eurasian watermilfoil has difficulty becoming established in lakes with healthy populations of native plants. (from A Field Guide to Aquatic Exotic Plants and Animals, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 1992)

Geography Standard #8
Physical Systems
The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth’s surface.
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Movement
Students can compile information about how each exotic aquatic species was introduced to new areas.
  • Sea lamprey entered the Great Lakes through the Welland Canal about 1921.
  • Zebra mussel microscopic larvae may be carried in livewells or bilgewater. Adults can attach to boats or boating equipment that sit in the water.
  • Eurasian watermilfoil can become entangled in boat propellers and may wrap around other external parts of the boat. Stems can become lodged among any watercraft apparatus or sports equipment that moves through water including boat trailers.
  • Purple loosestrife was introduced into the East Coast of North America in the 1800s. It first spread along roads, canals, and drainage ditches, then later was distributed as an ornamental. Seeds escape from gardens and nurseries into wetlands, lakes and rivers. Once in aquatic systems, seeds are easily spread by moving water and wetland animals.

(from A Field Guide to Aquatic Exotic Plants and Animals, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 1992)

European colonization—the single largest source of unintentional introduction is transport via ocean vessels originating at foreign ports. Over the past century, shipping time has become shorter with faster vessels. More species have been able to survive the journey and thrive in new waters. (Biological Invasions, Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, 1998)

ANS introductions result from activities that provide economic benefits such as aquaculture industry, aquarium trade, sport fish stocking, bait business and ornamental and landscape practices. (Biological Invasions, Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, 1998)

An aquatic vine, hydrilla, imported into Florida from Sri Lanka for use in aquariums, was dumped into a canal in Tampa in 1951. Also known as water thyme, it has overgrown more than 40% of Florida’s rivers and lakes and continues to spread rapidly. The state spends millions of dollars annually to fight the vine, which grows into dense mats, clogging boat propellers and preventing sunlight from reaching the water bottom. By monopolizing the dissolved oxygen that fish and aquatic plants require to thrive, hydrilla reduces native diversity. (Introduction to Geography, Getis et al.)

Geography Standard #14
Environment and Society
How human actions modify the physical environment.
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Consequences
Students can compile information about the consequences of exotic species introduction to new environments.
  • Sea Lamprey contributed greatly to the decline of whitefish and lake trout in the Great Lakes.
  • Zebra Mussels clog water-intake systems of power plants and water treatment facilities, and the cooling systems of boat engines. They have severely reduced or eliminated native mussel species. They filter plankton from the water, reducing what is available for upper-water species.
  • Eurasian watermilfoil interferes with water recreation such as boating, fishing and swimming. The plant’s floating canopy can also crowd out important native water plants.
  • Purple loosestrife invades marches and lakeshores, replacing cattails and other wetland plants. The plant can form dense, impenetrable stands which are unsuitable as cover, food, or nesting sites for a wide range of native wetland animals.

(from A Field Guide to Aquatic Exotic Plants and Animals, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 1992)

The Great Lakes sport and commercial fishing industry, valued at almost $4.5 billion annually, is at risk due to the growing numbers of nonindigenous mussels and fish, such as the zebra and quagga mussels, sea lamprey, ruffe and goby. (Biological Invasions, Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, 1998)

Large water users in the Great Lakes, including municipalities and industries, pay an average of $360,000 year to control zebra mussels, with documented cumulative costs of $120 million from 1989-1994. (Biological Invasions, Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, 1998)

Florida spends more than $14 million per year to control a single nonindigenous aquatic plant, hydrilla. (Biological Invasions, Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, 1998)

Geography Standard #15
 Environment and Society
How physical systems affect human systems.

Geography Standard #17
Uses of Geography
How to apply geography to interpret the past.
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Solutions
Students can study federal, regional, state, provincial, local, and private initiatives for controlling the spread and dealing with post introduction costs of exotic species:
  • Federal Initiatives: The U.S. Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (reauthorized in through the National Invasive Species Act of 1996) is a first line of defense against ANS invasions. The Act provides an institutional framework that promotes and coordinates research, develops and applies prevention and control technologies, establishes national priorities, educates and informs citizens, and coordinates public programs. (Biological Invasions, Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, 1998)
  • U.S. ballast water regulations mandated under the Act help limit introductions through transoceanic shipping. These regulations require that vessels bound for the Great Lakes exchange their freshwater ballast, replacing it with open ocean salt water that contains organisms not likely to survive in freshwater. (Biological Invasions, Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, 1998)
  • Water users throughout the Great Lakes Basin, and beyond, rely upon state/provincial agencies, Sea Grant programs, and other groups for advice and assistance ANS prevention and control measures. For example, the regulatory and information/education programs of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources have limited the spread of Eurasian watermilfoil as indicated by an overall decrease in the number of newly infested lakes over the past decade. (Biological Invasions, Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, 1998)
  • Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant provides information to boaters:

Before leaving a boat launch:
Inspect your boat, trailer, and equipment and remove any plants and animals.
Drain, on land, all water from the motor, live well, bilge, and transom well.
Some exotics may not be visible to the naked eye.
Empty you bait bucket on land. Never release live bait into a waterway, or transfer aquatic animals between waterways.

After leaving the boat launch:
 Wash your boat, tackle, trailer, and other equipment to kill any exotic species
not visible at the boat launch. This can be done with 104° F tap water, or a high-pressure sprayer. Or
Dry your equipment for at least five days—some exotics can survive for long periods of time out of water.
Learn what these organisms look like, and know which water ways are infested. Report any new infestations to Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant or your Department of Natural Resources.
Talk with these agencies for recommendations and permits before applying any control methods.

Geography Standard #16
 Environment and Society
The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.

Geography Standard #18
Uses of Geography
How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.
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