Invasive Species

On our Nature walk at the Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery we learned about plants and animals that are called invasive species . Two of them that our guide told us about were the Asian Honey Suckle and Zebra Mussels, but there are many more. In fact, in the Great Lakes basin there are more that 200 invasive species that have been either accidentally or intentionally brought in. Plants, such as the purple loosestrife, garlic mustard, autumn olive, common reed grass and Eurasian milfoil, and animals, such as gypsy moth and round gobies, have resulted in major ecological changes that disrupt the food web.

Our task is to build a list of invasive species that live in Michigan. Please post the name of the species and the web page where you found the information. Also include the following information using bullets:

• Name of species
• Where it came from
• The problems that it causes
• Additional Information

Example
Asian Carp

• Comes from Europe
• Eats zooplankton that is a primary food source for native fish during early life stages
• These fish reproduce quickly and overwhelm any ecosystem where they are introduced. People have tried to get rid of them by killing all fish in the lake with a poison, and then re-stocking the desirable species.