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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:navy'>How well has the exotic Hydrilla done is
less polluted areas with less nitrogen nutrients? In those reaches, which
had more natives species to start with, did Hydrilla out compete the natives? What
about the neurological impact on bald eagles with the associated exotic microorganisms?
Marc <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Marc Imlay</span></font></st1:PersonName><font
size=4><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>, PhD <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Conservation biologist, Anacostia Watershed Society <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>(301-699-6204, 301-283-0808 301-442-5657 cell)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Board member of the Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council, <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Hui o Laka at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Kokee State Park</st1:City>,
<st1:State w:st="on">Hawaii</st1:State></st1:place> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Vice president of the Maryland Native Plant Society, <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Chair of the Biodiversity and Habitat Stewardship Committee <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>for the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Maryland</st1:State></st1:place>
Chapter of the Sierra Club.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
apwg-bounces@lists.plantconservation.org
[mailto:apwg-bounces@lists.plantconservation.org] <b><span style='font-weight:
bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Patricia_DeAngelis@fws.gov<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Friday, May 18, 2007 2:33 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b>
apwg@lists.plantconservation.org<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> [APWG] Fw: USGS News
Release: Exotic Hydrilla Benefits ChesapeakeBay?s Ecosystem</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><br>
</span></font><font face=sans-serif><span style='font-family:sans-serif'>Forwarding
this news release with an interesting twist on exotic aquatic species....</span></font>
<br>
<br>
<font face=sans-serif><span style='font-family:sans-serif'>Patricia S. De
Angelis, Ph.D.<br>
Botanist - Division of Scientific Authority<br>
Chair - Plant Conservation <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Alliance</st1:place></st1:City>
- Medicinal Plant Working Group<br>
US Fish & Wildlife Service<br>
<st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 750</st1:address></st1:Street><br>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Arlington</st1:City>, <st1:State
w:st="on">VA</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode w:st="on">22203</st1:PostalCode></st1:place><br>
703-358-1708 x1753<br>
FAX: 703-358-2276<br>
Working for the conservation and sustainable use of our green natural
resources.<br>
<www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal><br>
</span></font><br>
<font face=sans-serif><span style='font-family:sans-serif'>- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - </span></font><br>
<br>
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><b><font size=4><span style='font-size:13.5pt;
font-weight:bold'>U.S.</span></font></b></st1:country-region><b><font size=4><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-weight:bold'> Department of the Interior</span></font></b>
<b><font size=4><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-weight:bold'><br>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
Geological Survey</span></font></b> <br>
<b><font size=4><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-weight:bold'><br>
News Release</span></font></b> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt;
font-weight:bold'>May 18, 2007 Nancy Rybicki
703-648-5728 <u><font
color="#3c613e"><span style='color:#3C613E'>nrybicki@usgs.gov</span></font></u></span></font></b>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt;
font-weight:bold'> Jurate Landwehr
703-648-5893 <u><font color="#3c613e"><span
style='color:#3C613E'>jmlandwe@usgs.gov</span></font></u></span></font></b> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt;
font-weight:bold'><br>
Exotic Hydrilla Benefits <st1:place w:st="on">Chesapeake Bay</st1:place>’s
Ecosystem</span></font></b> <br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'><br>
Editors: “Long-term changes in abundance and diversity of
macrophyte and waterfowl populations in an estuary with exotic macrophytes and
improving water quality,” is available online in the May issue of <u><font
color="#3c613e"><span style='color:#3C613E'>ASLO: Limnology and Oceanography</span></font></u>,
v 52, pages 1195-1207. </span></b><br>
<br>
An exotic species of aquatic vegetation that was deemed a severe nuisance when
it began rapidly colonizing the <st1:place w:st="on">Potomac River</st1:place>,
has instead benefited the watershed’s ecosystem, according to a study by
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published in the journal <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Limnology and Oceanography.</span></i><font
color=red><span style='color:red'> </span></font>The robust exotic hydrilla
first appeared and began to flourish in the fresh water reaches of the tidal <st1:place
w:st="on">Potomac River</st1:place> just as management investments to reduce
nutrient loads from sewage treatment plants were beginning to take effect.
Submerged aquatic vegetation is an important ecosystem resource for fish
and waterfowl and it was feared that the expansion of hydrilla would impair the
reemergence of native species, but this has not proven to be the case. <br>
<br>
“Before and during the seventeen-year period of the study, restoration of
the Potomac has focused on reducing nitrogen loads entering the river system
and the <st1:place w:st="on">Chesapeake Bay</st1:place>,” said USGS
scientist Nancy Rybicki, who with colleague Jurate Landwehr were curious how
the emergence of hydrilla would affect the benefits sought for by management
investments<font color=green><span style='color:green'>. </span></font> <br>
<br>
Shortly after it first appeared in the <st1:place w:st="on">Potomac</st1:place>
in 1983, hydrilla produced dense vegetation masses and, in some areas, impeded
boat traffic and water sports." More significantly, it was feared that
hydrilla would interfere with native vegetation, which is important for
waterfowl, such as black duck, a signature species in this area. <br>
<br>
Using information from annual field surveys and aerial photographs, Rybicki and
Landwehr created a data base to document bed-by-bed which species of vegetation
were found in different sections of the <st1:place w:st="on">Potomac River</st1:place>
system. They recorded the percentage of total coverage and biomass each
species attained annually. In comparing species coverage with water
quality composition, they discovered that, with the reduction of nitrogen concentration
in <st1:place w:st="on">Potomac River</st1:place>, hydrilla coverage expanded
but so did the diversity of plant species found in the River. Hydrilla did not
crowd out native species; indeed, native species increased. In addition,
hydrilla is a good winter food source for waterfowl communities, which have
increased significantly over this period. <br>
<br>
“This research is the only long-term, quantitative study of aquatic plant
biodiversity following the colonization of an exotic species in an estuary
where millions of dollars are spent annually to reduce nutrient input and it
demonstrates that exotics are not always harmful to an ecosystem,” said
Rybicki. <br>
<br>
"Furthermore," Landwehr pointed out, "the methods developed for
this study are transferable to any ecological assessments that need to merge
remotely-sensed spatial coverage with field observations." <br>
<br>
The findings support current federal and state management strategies to improve
water clarity and reduce nutrient loads to: enhance aquatic vegetation
coverage; increase waterfowl habitat; and protect biodiversity of the existing
native community. <br>
<br>
The study was conducted as part of the USGS Chesapeake Bay studies, which is
providing integrated science to for effective conservation and restoration of
the Bay ecosystem. The USGS is a federal partner in the Chesapeake Bay Program,
the federal-state partnership to restore the Bay ecosystem. More information
can be found at <u><font color="#3c613e"><span style='color:#3C613E'>http://chesapeake.usgs.gov</span></font></u>
<br>
<br>
USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information, visit <u><font
color="#3c613e"><span style='color:#3C613E'>www.usgs.gov</span></font></u>. <br>
<br>
Subscribe to USGS News Releases via our <u><font color="#3c613e"><span
style='color:#3C613E'>electronic mailing list</span></font></u> or <u><font
color="#3c613e"><span style='color:#3C613E'>RSS</span></font></u> feed. <br>
<br>
**** www.usgs.gov **** <br>
<br>
Diane Noserale<br>
Media Relations, Eastern Region<br>
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>
Geological Survey<br>
150 National Center<br>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Reston</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">VA</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">20192</st1:PostalCode></st1:place><br>
phone: 703-648-4333<br>
fax: 703-648-4588 <o:p></o:p></p>
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