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A New Tool for Helping Managers Make Decisions about Inspections -- to help inform decision making, researchers developed AIS Explorer: Prioritization for Watercraft Inspections, a web-based decision-making support tool for optimizing watercraft inspection efficiency. The online dashboard incorporates data about which lakes are infested and how boats move among lakes in Minnesota (gathered from surveys at watercraft inspection stations), and it updates automatically as new entries are added to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Infested Water List.

This decision support tool can help counties position their limited inspection resources strategically to protect the greatest number of waterbodies and safeguard the state’s ecological and economic assets.

Lady beetles are one of the most effective, natural ways to control crop-damaging pests such as aphids. A single lady beetle can devour hundreds of aphids in its lifetime, thereby curbing the need for pesticides. Unfortunately, some lady beetles native to the U.S. and Canada are dwindling in numbers. ARS scientists are studying their declining populations.

Along the Rio Grande in Texas, tiny insects are taking a big bite out of an invasive weed that competes for limited water resources vital to agriculture and native vegetation. Several years ago, ARS scientists released two insect species as part of a biocontrol program to kill giant reed (Arundo donax).

Invasive insect and arthropod species make for a lot of scary headlines—think emerald ash borer, spotted lanternfly, and Asian longhorned tick, just to name a few. But success stories in invasive-species response are out there. They just need to be told. One of those success stories is the eradication of the European grapevine moth (Lobesia botrana) in northern California after it was found there in 2009. A cooperative, multipronged response effort kept infestations from running wild, and it was declared eradicated in 2016, two years after the last adult moth was caught in the region. The story of this effort is recounted, along with analysis of the invasion’s dynamics, in a study published in January in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America.

Meet the Honeysweet Plum: A virus-resistant plum that ARS hopes to bring to market soon. They are large and oblong with a very sweet, flavorful taste. ARS created the Honeysweet variety using RNAi, a biotechnology method that makes them immune to the plum pox virus. Plum pox infects stone fruit trees: plums, peaches, apricots and cherries. Once infected, the fruit discolors and falls from the tree prior to maturation. There is no natural, genetic resistance to the virus.

Aquatic invasive species threaten U.S. freshwater bodies throughout the country. One of the most prevalent and prevailing of these is hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillate), which spans from Florida all the way up to Maine, and as far west as California. The state of Florida alone spent $125 million from 2008 – 2015 to manage aquatic invasive species, $66 million of which went toward managing hydrilla. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is estimated to spend $15 million annually on managing hydrilla. This submerged weed is primarily managed through cost effective, safe aquatic herbicides and more costly mechanical harvesting. Due to the prevalence of hydrilla, understanding stakeholder perceptions regarding its management is critical to its successful control. 

This infographic displays Florida’s stakeholder perceptions around aquatic herbicide and mechanical harvesting usage, which can be utilized as a model for other states as well. Data analysis of 3,000 survey responses concluded that a majority of stakeholders are concerned about both the use of aquatic herbicides and mechanical harvesting.

Boxwood blight is a fungal disease that can cause the leaves of boxwood plants to fall off prematurely. ARS scientists in Fort Dietrick, MD, are studying how boxwood blight evolves and are working closely with the floriculture and nursey industry to develop methods for testing, controlling, and mitigating the disease.

Giant reed, Arundo donax, is a large, fast-growing invasive grass that has invaded at least 100,000 acres of "riparian" habitat in the southwestern and southeastern U.S. and is present as far north as Ohio and Washington State. Watch this video to learn how ARS researchers are using biocontrol (insects) to reduce the presence of this invasive plant.

ARS researchers are working to understand the impact of a changing climate on bee health. In observance of National Pollinator Week, Tellus presents a special article authored by two of ARS’s leading bee researchers.

“Invasivorism,” or eating invasive species as a means to control or eliminate their numbers, has become a popular tool, utilized by restaurants and even Whole Foods. The tale of a giant Amazon fish reveals the promise and peril of “invasivorism.”

ARS scientists in Nevada, studied ways to control cheatgrass and restore rangelands to a healthy mix of plants, which in turn reduces wildfire threats, supports wildlife, and increases sustainable grazing resources.

Chinese tallow tree (Triadica sebifera) is a nonnative, invasive tree whose decaying leaf litter alters water quality and the microbial community in the wetland habitats. This negatively impacts the lifecycle of semi-aquatic species like frogs.

Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven) is a rapidly growing invasive tree species introduced to the United States nearly 200 years ago. Today, this species is a common invader in many forests across the nation. Scientists with the Northern Research Station have identified a unique biological control measure for managing Ailanthus—Verticillium nonalfalfae, a native soil-borne fungus. Check out this latest issue of Rooted in Research that explores how Verticillium can reduce Ailanthus populations.

A worm is a worm is a worm, right? Except that there are more than 7,000 species of worms, and the longer you look, the more complex their world becomes. Earthworms compete. Earthworms invade. Earthworms… jump?

Sometimes reaching a height of more than 100 feet tall with trunk diameters often well over 10 feet, the American chestnut was the giant of the eastern U.S. forests. There were once billions of them and their range stretched from Georgia and Alabama to Michigan, but the majestic tree was gone before forest science existed to document its role in the ecosystem. Notes left by early foresters including Gifford Pinchot, the founder and first chief of the USDA Forest Service, suggest that its ecological role was as impressive as the tree's size. Mature American chestnuts have been virtually extinct for decades. The tree's demise started with something called ink disease in the early 1800s, which steadily killed chestnut in the southern portion of its range. The final blow happened at the turn of the 20th century when a disease called chestnut blight swept through Eastern forests. But, after decades of work breeding trees, The American Chestnut Foundation, a partner in the Forest Service's effort to restore the tree, is close to being able to make a blight-resistant American chestnut available.

In parts of the South, there are stories about an invasive floating weed, which forms such a dense mass that it enables small animals to walk across water. This weed, called giant salvinia, is an exotic fern from South America that invades ponds, lakes, and other waterways in the United States. It damages aquatic ecosystems by outgrowing and replacing native plants that provide food and habitat for native animals and waterfowl.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are testing a naturally occurring fungus (Myrothecium spp.) against giant salvinia to help control it. Initial tests have found that the fungus stops this problematic weed from growing and even can kill it.

Officials issued a quarantine to control the invasive species, which devours vegetation, damages structures and can carry a parasite dangerous to humans. The invasive giant African land snail—one of the most damaging snails in the world—has returned to Florida for the third time in the state’s history. Florida's Broward county giant African land snail quarantine prohibits people in the 3.5-square-mile area from moving the giant African land snails, and they also must not transport certain plants, soil, compost and yard debris that could contain snails or their eggs.

Late spring heralds the start of open water fishing season. For the casual angler, it's easy to take for granted the abundance of fish this time of year. However, many species, especially native fish, can use their help. "There are so many issues affecting the health of fish populations – barriers caused by dams and roads that cross streams fragment fish habitat. Water is diverted out of streams for other uses," said Tina Hopkins, the regional fisheries program manager for the Forest Service’s Intermountain Region. "But perhaps the biggest threat across the country is aquatic invasive species."

Fisheries biologists from around the country have recommended a few ways that anglers, boaters and recreators can do their part to ensure healthy fish stocks for seasons to come. Here is their advice to recreators, in their words:

• "Consult your lawbook, know the rules, and please don’t move fish around."
• "It is extremely important that anglers clean their boats, trailers, waters, and gear when they are done fishing for the day."
• "Every drainage is going to be different, so anglers should be informed about where they are fishing."

Learn simple steps you can take to prevent the spread of invasive species when you recreate outdoors.