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Provides access to general invasive species information for Maryland as well as report an invasive species using Maryland's Invasive Species Tracker.

See also: Aquatic Invasive Species and news posts tagged with "aquatic invasive species"

These plants are known to be invasive or potentially invasive in Connecticut and are on Connecticut's list of Invasive and Potentially Invasive Plants. They are known to be present only in relatively low numbers at limited locations in Connecticut. These species should be considered for control and eradication efforts in the state when resources are available. If you find these species: Report your findings immediately to the CT Invasive Plant Coordinator at reportinvasives@uconn.edu.

Black carp, which are an invasive fish species in North America, are now known to be established in the wild in parts of the Mississippi River basin. A new study co-authored by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the first to identify an established population—meaning they are naturally reproducing and living to adulthood— of wild black carp in any location across the U.S.

When a black carp is captured in the wild, it can be reported to the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database. That tool compiles information on and can be used to track the status of other aquatic invasive species as well. The USGS is involved in many invasive species projects across the U.S. and its territories. Learn more by visiting the USGS Invasive Species website or the USGS Invasive Carp section.

Recent sightings of a large, non-native land crab along the South Atlantic coast, including in coastal Georgia, are a cause for concern, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (WRD). Blue land crabs are native from Brazil to south Florida and can be as large as 5-6 inches. Sightings recently have been reported well north of the crabs’ native range, including the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Multiple reports have been made to Georgia WRD offices.

The public is encouraged to take photos and report sightings of blue land crabs at GeorgiaWildlife.com/ANS. Questions about blue land crabs? Contact a local Georgia WRD office (details at GeorgiaWildlife.com/about/contact#fish).

The cactus moth has a wingspan of only about an inch, but this invasive insect has the potential to cause largescale agricultural and ecological devastation in Texas, according to the first study of cactus moths in Texas. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin's Invasive Species Project based at Brackenridge Field Laboratory in Austin have found that four native species of prickly pear cactus — and the species that rely on them — face a serious health threat from the moth.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has been working to slow the spread of invasive carp since the early 2000s. The Invasive Carp Action Plan was revised in 2024. The key purpose of the Action Plan is to slow the spread of invasive carp, minimize their impact, and reduce the likelihood of invasive carp reproducing in Minnesota waters.

Provides resources for National Plan, Action Plans, Monitoring Response Plans, Contingency Plans, Interim Summary Reports, and Water Resources Reform and Development Act Reports.

The Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ICRCC) announced the release of its 2022 Invasive Carp Action Plan, a comprehensive portfolio of 60 projects focused on Great Lakes protection. The Action Plan serves as a foundation for the work of the ICRCC partnership — a collaboration of 28 U.S. and Canadian federal, state, provincial, tribal, regional, and local agencies.

The Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ICRCC) is pleased to announce the release of its 2023 Invasive Carp Action Plan, a comprehensive portfolio of more than 50 projects focused on Great Lakes protection. The action plan serves as a foundation for the work of the Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee partnership, a collaboration of 26 U.S. and Canadian federal, state, provincial, tribal, regional and local agencies.
See also: Action Plans and Report (see "Action Plan" section for 2023 Action Plan)

USGS scientists, in collaboration with partners, are conducting risk assessments and life history research to enhance the ability of agencies to manage Invasive carp to minimize their influence and spread.

Native freshwater mussels grew more slowly when invasive Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea) were abundant. The study was led by Wendell Haag, a USDA Forest Service research fisheries biologist. The study, "Abundance of an invasive bivalve, Corbicula fluminea, is negatively related to growth of freshwater mussels in the wild" was published in the journal Freshwater Biology. Mussels live out of sight – buried in the river bottom, eating algae and other small particles of organic material. Mussels are filter feeders and key members of aquatic ecosystems. Unfortunately, mussels are disappearing worldwide, and about 70 percent of the 300 mussel species native to the U.S. are in danger of extinction. Addressing mussel declines is difficult because their causes are mostly unknown.

Imagine walking through a forest, with leaves crunching beneath your feet. Underneath those crunchy leaves is a complex ecological realm. “Soil is teeming with life,” says U.S. Forest Service research ecologist Mac Callaham. “Most people don’t think about it because they don’t see the soil fauna.” Soil fauna includes centipedes, millipedes, springtails, nematodes, insect larvae, and earthworms. “Springtails are very small arthropods,” says SRS ecologist Melanie Taylor. “Earthworms are the giants of soil fauna.” Taylor, Callaham, and lead author Meixiang Gao recently published a study on non-native earthworms and the food web. The study was published in the journal Soil Biology and Biochemistry.

The USDA program to manage Lymantria dispar is a partnership with the Forest Service, APHIS, and state partners, to suppress outbreaks in the generally infested area, eradicate isolated infestations in the uninfested area, and slow the spread along the advancing front.
See also: The Lymantria dispar Digest for a database containing information about gypsy moth defoliation and treatments at the national level.
See related resource: National Slow The Spread (STS) Program

European green crabs are one of the most widespread invasive marine species on the planet, originally reaching Washington in 1996. When green crab populations grow too large, they compete with other shellfish, disturb the sediment, and destroy the eelgrass that is an important habitat for Dungeness crab and salmon. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is working to increase the effectiveness of Washington’s green crab early detection and rapid response program. Research conducted at the USGS' Western Fisheries Research Center aims to improve native shellfish habitat and limit the spread of European green crabs in coastal waters.

The green crab, Carcinus maenas, is a widely distributed invasive species that eventually alters its new environment. It's assumed that such species have high genetic diversity, or a variety of characteristics allowing them to adapt and thrive. But the green crab has low genetic diversity, while still spreading rapidly in a new part of the world. A U.S. National Science Foundation-funded study led by Carolyn Tepolot of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is investigating the adaptive mechanisms of the green crab along the west coast of North America, where it has shown extensive dispersal in the last decade despite minimal genetic diversity. The results are published in Molecular Ecology. The project is a collaboration among scientists at WHOI, Portland State University, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the University of California, Davis.

The Invasive Lionfish Web Portal, developed by the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute in partnership with NOAA, supports the management and control of lionfish in conservation areas along the Southeast coast of the U.S. and Caribbean.

The Invasive Mosquito Project is aimed at monitoring invasive container-inhabiting mosquito species across the United States. By doing this monitoring, we can determine where the invasive mosquito species, as well as native species, are distributed across the U.S. and define at-risk human and animal populations based on this distribution. This citizen science project provides students, teachers, and anyone interested the opportunity to collect real data and contribute to a national mosquito species distribution study.

• USDA Wants Citizen-scientists to Help Fight Zika (May 17, 2016)
  The Associated Press; The Denver Post.

Invasive zebra and quagga mussels alter ecosystem dynamics and affect industrial, municipal, and recreational water users. The negative impacts of these dreissenid mussels drove scientists to search for effective control methods beginning in the early 1990s. Since then, researchers have uncovered various control methods, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Both chemical and physical treatments have been developed and used by state and federal agencies in the control of zebra mussels.

The Invasive Mussel Collaborative announced today that it has released a new strategy to reduce invasive mussels and their negative impacts. The Strategy to Advance Management of Invasive Zebra and Quagga Mussels is intended to drive investments, policy, and research around invasive mussels across the Great Lakes region and beyond. Since their initial discovery in 1989, zebra and quagga mussels have had dramatic impacts on the Great Lakes ecosystem and economy, including changes to the food web, degrading fish habitat, interfering with drinking water systems and damaging tourism and recreation economies. Today, these mussels continue to spread to new water bodies across the U.S. and Canada.