■442 



Non-native S/Jecics — Our IJviiii; Ri:si}iint:s 



For further information: 



Charles A. Drost 



National Biological Service 



Colorado Plateau Research Station 



Northern Arizona University 



PO Box 5614 



Flagstaff. AZ 86011 



intnidiiccd herbivoies such as goats iCapni liir- 

 cus). pigs, and Old World rabbits {Orycinlaiiiis 

 ciiniciilus). and introduced predators such as 

 feral cats, rats, and mongooses (Herpestes 

 iiunipiiiictatus: Stone 1985: Brockie et al. 

 1988). At the same time, these island areas have 

 had some of the greatest success at controlling 

 and managing non-native species. Feral goats, 

 pigs, rabbits, and cats have been eliminated 

 from some of the Channel Islands, allowing 

 native plant and animal communities to begin to 

 recover, and Hawaiian parks and refuges have 

 successfully protected parts of their unique 

 flora and fauna through aggressive and innova- 

 tive control and exclusion measures against 

 non-natives (Stone and Loope 1987). 



References 



Brockie. R.E.. L.L. Loope. M.B. Usher, and O. Hamann 

 I'JXS. Biological invasions of island nature reserves. 

 Biological Conservation 44:9-36. 



Courtenay. W.R., Jr.. and JR. Staufler, Jr. 1984. 

 Distribution, biology, and management of exotic fishes. 

 Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore. MD. 4M) pp. 



Eck, G.. and L. Wells. 1987. Recent changes in Lake 

 Michigan's fish community and their probable causes, 

 with an emphasis on the role of the alewife {Ahisn 

 fiseiuliihiireniius). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and 

 Aquatic Science -t4:53-60. 



Elton. C.S. 19.58. The ecology of invasions by animals and 

 plants. Chapman and Hall. London, UK. 181 pp. 



Larson. G.L., and S.E. Moore. 1985. Encroachment of exot- 

 ic rainbow trout into stream populations of native brook 

 trout in the southern Appalachian Mountains. 

 Transactions at the American Fisheries Society 

 ll4:195-2n.V 



Lawrie. A.H. 1970. The sea lamprey in the Great Lakes. 

 Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 

 99:766-775. 



Lever. C. 1985. Naturalized mammals of the uorld. 

 Longman Inc.. New York. 487 pp. 



Long, J.L. 1981. Introduced birds of the world. Universe 

 Books. New York. 528 pp. 



Meffe. G.K.. D.A. Hendrickson. W.L. Minckley. and J.N. 

 Rinne. 1983. Factors resulting in decline of the endan- 

 gered Sonoran topminnow Poeciliopsis occidennilis 



( Atheriniformes: Poeciliidae) in the United States. 

 Biological Conservation 25:135-159. 



Moyle. P.B. 1986. Fish introductions into North America: 

 patterns and ecological impact. Pages 27-43 in H.A. 

 Mooney and J.A. Drake, eds. Ecology of biological inva- 

 sions of Nonh America and Hawaii. Springer- Verlag. 

 New York. 



NPCA. 1977. Summary of National Parks and Conservation 

 Association survey of feral animals in the national park 

 system. National Parks and Conservation Magazine 

 51:16-20. 



NPS. 1991. Natural resources management guideline. NPS- 

 77. U.S. Department of the Interior. National Park 

 Service. 675 pp. 



OTA. 1993. Harmful non-indigenous species in the United 

 States. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. 

 391 pp. 



Palmer, T.S. 1899. The danger of introducing noxious ani- 

 mals and birds. Pages 87-110 in U.S. Department of 

 Agriculture yearbook. 1898. USDA. Washington, DC. 



Singer. F.J. 1981. Wild pig populations in the national parks. 

 Environmental Management 5:263-270. 



Smith. H.M.. and A.J. Kohler. 1977. A survey of herpeto- 

 logical introductions in the United States and Canada. 

 Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 80: 1 -24. 



Stone, C.P. 1985. Alien animals in Hawaii's native ecosys- 

 tems; toward controlling the adverse effects of intro- 

 duced venebrates. Pages 251-297 in C.P. Stone and J.M. 

 Scott, eds. Hawaii's terrestrial ecosystems: preservation 

 and management. Cooperative National Parks Resources 

 Studies Unit, University of Hawaii. Honolulu, 



Stone, C.P. and L.L. Loope. 1987. Reducing negative 

 effects of introduced animals on native biotas in Hawaii: 

 what is being done, what needs doing, and the role of 

 national parks. Environmental Conservation 14:245-258. 



Taylor. J.N.. W,R, Courtenay, and J, A, McCann, 1984, 

 Known impacts of exotic fish introductions in the conti- 

 nental United States, Pages 322-373 in W,R, Courtenay, 

 Jr and J,R, Stauffer, eds. Distribution, biology and man- 

 agement of exotic fishes. Johns Hopkins University 

 Press. Baltimore, MD. 



Usher. M.B.. FJ. Kruger. I.A.W. Macdonald. L.L. Loope, 

 and RE, Brockie, 1988, The ecology of biological inva- 

 sions into nature reserves: an introduction. Biological 

 Conservation 44: 1-8, 



Van't Woudt. B,D, 1990, Roaming, stray, and feral domes- 

 tic cats and dogs as wildlife problems. Pages 291-295 in 

 L.R, Davis and R.E. Marsh, eds. Proceedings of the 

 Fourteenth Vertebrate Pest Conference. University of 

 California, Davis. 



Exotic Species 

 in the Great 

 Lakes 



by 



Thomas A. Edsall 



National Biological Senice 



Edward L. Mills 



Cornell University Biological 



Field Station 



Joseph H. Leach 



Ontario Ministry of Natural 



Resources 



Global transfer of exotic organisms is one of 

 the rnost pervasive and perhaps least recog- 

 nized effects of humans on aquatic ecosystems 

 of the world. Such transfers to new environ- 

 ments may lead to loss of species diversity and 

 the extensive alteration of the native communi- 

 ty. These changes, in turn, may have broad eco- 

 nomic and social effects on the human comniu- 

 nities that rely on the system for food, water, or 

 recreation. Here we describe the exotic aquatic 

 species that have become established in the 

 Great Lakes and discuss their entry mechanisms 

 or routes, the timeline of introduction, their geo- 

 graphic origins or sources, and their effects on 

 the ecosystem of the Great Lakes. A recent 

 review (Mills et al. 1993) provides the basis for 

 much of this report. 



Introductions of Species 



Since the early 1800's, at least 139 new 

 aquatic organisms have become established in 

 the Great Lakes (Fig. 1); most are aquatic or 

 wetland plants (42%), fishes (18%), and algae 

 {\T7c). Introduced species of mollusks, 

 oligochaetes, crustaceans, flatworms, bry- 

 ozoans, cnidarians, and disease pathogens coin- 

 bined represent 22% of the total. All entered the 

 Great Lakes basin by major mechanisms or 

 routes (Fig. 2) including shipping (41 exotic 

 species); unintentional releases (40 new 

 species): ship or barge canals, along railroads or 

 highways, or deliberate releases (17 species): 

 unknown entry vectors (14 species): and multi- 

 ple entry mechanisms (27 species). 



