Photos

[rsivertsen]

Here are some images from the small pond in back of a shopping mall. Sorry if some are a little blurry, I didn't have a tripod at the time. I'll post better ones this year when I get a better camera; also, a polarized lens is a must!

[rsivertsen]

A few more:

[pinglover]

The photos are most certainly indicative of a successful introduction of an exotic species into New Jersey. Your Aldrovanda appears to have naturalized which was your intent. I truly don't believe it to be in the best interests of the environment to promote these types of introductions however your photos are very nice.

This area is in need of some TLC lest it be choked out in the not so distant future by aquatic nuisance species. I see what appears to be several opportunistic invaders that have already "settled in" quite nicely. You've probably got European Phragmites as well as Typha angustifolia and possibly Trapa natans in that pond.

Please take a moment to re-think what you are doing. We don't live in a bubble and what you do affects me and what I do affects you-
www.biodiversitypartners.org/state/nj/invasive.shtml

[Clint]

Goodness gracious me! I saw these pics earlier Rich. Wow! I see some Ludwigia Repens it appears. Popular aquarium plant, we have it here too.


Very healthy Aldrovanda population! As long as it's a private pond and everyone has permission it doesn't bother me what you do. I can see how other people might get upset, but speaking personally, it doesn't bother me.

Besides i'm already well at work breeding my own radioactive monsters in by basement to unleash upon the people of North Dakota. Shhh.

[rsivertsen]

This site was a mosquito infested, algae slime and scum pit mud puddle from a shopping mall rainwater run-off discharge before the Aldrovanda naturalized. Since then, the reoccurring and cyclic algae blooms and catastrophic population crashes have stopped, and the mosquito population is under control.

I've addressed your concerns in Barry's post in the Observations post. Once again, I don't make these introductions carelessly; I put a lot of thought and effort in scoping out a suitable potential site with regard to its proximity to protected wetlands and pristine forests. Still, this is the only site that Aldrovanda returns year after year, and I haven’t made any other attempts to naturalize them in other places since 2004.

On the plus side, I have been able to observe Aldrovanda in a natural setting, and have found it to do some amazing and remarkable things which is still unpublished, and I would never have been able to do so otherwise. There is much to learn from these plants, and they are going extinct in their natural habitats, including Japan.

Peace brother!

[pinglover]

sister

[rsivertsen]

Thanks, I stand corrected! Sister! ;D my apologies!

[nepenthes]

Sweet Science, thats allot of Aldrovanda

[rsivertsen]

I visited the site today to see how things are going. The weather is very bright and cloudy, not very good conditions for photography, too much glare. The Aldrovanda population has once again been decimated by Canadian geese and a flock of Mallards; all those plants in those areas of the pond are all gone! The only thing visible is the grey-brown silty clay beneath the water. I did however find a few turions just coming out of dormancy, less than 50, in a dense stand of Pragmites and Carex; some turions were washed up on top of clay mounds, out of water, and some were still sunk below, and had not yet regained buoyancy. They are a few weeks behind schedule from previous years, where they were three to four inch strands at this time. Algae is already visible in those areas where Aldrovanda are no longer present. Here is a shot I took in 2004, after some heavy rains flooded the site, and lifted some Aldrovana out from some marginal grasses and caused them to float above them. After viewing the shot, I noticed that there was a small pickerel looking back up at me!

[BarryRice]

rsivertsen said:

This site was a mosquito infested, algea slime and scum pit mud puddle from a shopping mall rainwater run-off discharge before the Aldrovanda naturalized. Since then, the reoccuring and cyclic algae blooms and catistrophic population crashes have stopped, and the mosquito population is under control.

I've addressed your concerns in Barry's post in the Observations post. Once again, I don't make these introductions carelessly, I put a lot of thought and effort in scoping out a suitable potential site with regard to its proximity to pretected wetlands and pristine forests. Still, this is the only site that Aldrovanda retuns year after year, and haven't made any other attemps to naturalize them in other places since 2004.

On the plus side, I have been able to observe Aldrovanda in a natural setting, and have found it to do some amazing and remarkable things which is still unpublished, and I would never have been able to do so otherwise. There is much to learn from these plants, and they are going extinct in their natural habitats, including Japan.

Peace brother!

And this is what drives me ape about this whole situation. If these observations are correct, rsivertsen is documenting community-level impacts from his introduction. I'm not saying I think the observed changes are, or aren't a result of his introduction (there's no control site), but he is convinced they are. And if he's right, his introductions are affecting a variety of trophic levels in the small pond.

What I do not see in this photograph is proof that floodwaters from this site cannot reach other sites. Nor do I see an exclusion fence keeping migratory waterfowl out.

I stand by my oft-published statements, that rsivertsen has read in my emails ad nauseam, that this is a mistake and is not responsible conservation.

Sigh.

Barry

[Michael]

rsivertsen said:

The Aldrovanda population has once again been decimated by Canadian geese and a flock of Mallards; all those plants in those areas of the pond are all gone!

I don't know if this is the right place for this question (or a couple questions)--but I think it relates to the topic of introducing non-native or potentially invasive species.

I know waterfowl could mechanically, well, physically, transfer vegetation from one location to another.

In the quote above, am I reading it correctly that the waterfowl have consumed the Aldrovanda? Is it possible for Aldrovanda to survive digestion and be "planted" elsewhere along the migratory path?

In my rock garden, new plants are regularly introduced via my little visiting feathered friends fecal matter.

Curiously, Mike

[rsivertsen]

Mike, I doubt that any strands of Aldrovanda could survive through the digestive tract of birds or anything else that feed on it, which also include snapping turtles, and possibly deer, which have been observed in the pond; the question is whether or not the seeds can pass through the digestive tract, which is often the case with plants and birds.

Once again, this is a privately owned pond, and permissions were acquired. Aldrovanda has an enormous fatality rate from various creatures and seasonal drying. I have written them off many times. They only occupy the shallow areas and grow commingled with the marginal plants; those strands that wander off into deeper water go into decline and eventually die; I proved this myself by forcing them into a caged areas in the deeper spots.

There are many homeowners that have backyard water features with exotic water lilies and other garden plants that are not indigenous, are we going to ban these as well? They also pose a threat of escaping into the wild by birds and animals. What about the naturalized populations of Dionea outside the Wilmington, North Carolina? There are several naturalized populations of it in the Florida panhandle, near Pensacola Fla. Including Apalachicola State Park.

[marcel]

Private pond or not, you should be extremely careful with exotics. In our Dutch waterways there are some plants that totally block the water flow and cost the government millions of euros to clear out who just happened to "escape" from a private pond.

If you don't believe me about the dangers of exotics, ask an Aussie!

[Michael Catalani]

rsivertsen said:

There are many homeowners that have backyard water features with exotic water lilies and other garden plants that are not indigenous, are we going to ban these as well? They also pose a threat of escaping into the wild by birds and animals. What about the naturalized populations of Dionea outside the Wilmington, North Carolina? There are several naturalized populations of it in the Florida panhandle, near Pensacola Fla. Including Apalachicola State Park.

The primary concern for planting an exotic in an area is how it will affect the native plant populations. Some plants are quite docile, and dont pose a problem to the native flora. Other plants can be highly aggressive. Some of these aggressive plants are very difficult to eradicate.

Dionaea is probably a good example of a docile plant, because it is not aggressive, and it doesnt compete well with other plants. The vft plants in the Florida panhandle have been there for a significant amount of time, and they are still highly isolated in their area and are not negatively affecting the native plant populations. They are perennials that take years to mature. Their seed is heavy and not wind blown.

Sarracenia are the same way, they are not aggressive towards the native plant populations. However, they can be aggressive to each other, especially S. leucophylla. S. leucophylla can hybridize another stand of native Sarracenia out of existance in relatively short order. In general, its never wise to plant one of the upright Sarracenias into an area of another upright Sarracenia, because it can seriously affect the native species.

Purple loosetrife and japanese honeysuckle are good example of exotics gone really bad. These plants are highly aggresive. Japanese honeysuckle is an excellent competitor. Purple loosestrife can multiply and fill a bog area rapidly, and then quickly change the habitat. They are also very difficult to eradicate.

Bindweed was introduced in Canada, and within a decade had gone from coast to coast. It is extremely difficult to eradicate. The most successful method is to cover the field of bindweed with a solid ground cover, and then mulch over this to block out all light. After 3 years, the bindweed plants will likely be dead. BUT, seed of bindweed plants are viable for at least 60 years, so preventive maintenance on the field will continue for the better part of a century afterwards.

For the most part, CP's are not aggressive plants, nor are they hard to eradicate. But there are some CP's that can be aggressive and seriously affect native plant populations, and are difficult to eradicate because they are water plants. Certain utrics and aldrovanda come to mind.

As far as other exotics in peoples backyards, it is illegal in certain parts of the US to grow certain non-native plants. Purple loosestrife is one plant that is particularly hated. The non-native plant material that is particularly dangerous are plants that can rapidly spread, and/or seriously affect the native plant populations. Its not so important that a plant is a non-native, as it is that it is an aggressive plant that can run rampant unchecked, and seriously affect the native plant populations if they were to multiply outside of the confines of a persons yard.

[Clint]

When I think of invasive I think of kudzu lol.