Invasive species management, Monitoring

In July through September 2021, we collected invertebrates from North Vogel Lake, Vogel Lake, and Miller Creek using photo observations, specimens, and metabarcoding methods. This effort preceded a rotenone treatment to remove invasive northern pike from the Miller Creek watershed on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska (this fish has been introduced to the southcentral region of the state but is found naturally elsewhere in Alaska). Rotenone is a plant-based compound commonly used by fishery managers to affect creatures with gills but can also affect aquatic invertebrates. The initial observations are important because they help us monitor the recovery of invertebrates following the rotenone treatment. Freshwater invertebrate surveys will be repeated in 2022.

Photos of species from the project were collected using iNaturalist, which is an online platform for sharing nature observations. You can see the photo observations at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/miller-creek-invertebrate-inventory. Specimen records can also be accessed on the ARCTOS Database:  https://arctos.database.museum/project/10003613.

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Kenai National Wildlife Refuge
The Dena’ina people call this special place “Yaghanen” - the good land. It's also known as the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.  From ice fields and glaciers to tundra, forests, and coastal wetlands, the Kenai Refuge is often called “Alaska in miniature." Biodiversity is unusually high for this...
National Wildlife Refuge
Soldotna,AK

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A bright blue sky obstructed by fluffy white clouds reflected off of a stream shot from inside a kayak
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages an unparalleled network of public lands and waters called the National Wildlife Refuge System. With more than 570 refuges spanning the country, this system protects iconic species and provides some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities on Earth.
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Washington,DC
Aquatic invasive species cause tremendous harm to our environment, our economy, and our health. They can drive out and eat native plants and wildlife, spread diseases, and damage infrastructure. We work to protect our waterways and the communities that depend on them from the threat of invasive...
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Invasive species are non-native plants, animals and other living organisms that thrive in areas where they don’t naturally live and cause (or are likely to cause) economic or environmental harm, or harm to human, animal or plant health. Invasive species degrade, change or displace native habitats,...
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