Passport to Texas

Giant Salvinia overtaking Lake Conroe

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This is Passport to Texas

Giant Salvinia…tilapia…zebra mussels… are just three of the many non-native, invasive aquatic species threatening Texas rivers and lakes.

11-As a whole, anytime you get an invasive species into the state–whether it be a new one or one we are currently dealing with–they certainly cause a lot of economic as well as environmental negative impact.

Brian Van Zee is a TPW Inland Fisheries Regional Director.

15- When an invasive species gets introduced into a new system, they typically have very few predators or natural control mechanisms in place. So, they are able to take over and dominate those systems; that just creates a lot of problems for a lot of our native species.

Giant salvinia quickly creates huge, thick mats of vegetation on lakes, reducing light penetration that results in oxygen depletion; tilapia outcompete native fishes for food, thus threatening their populations; and zebra mussels adhere to municipal water intake pipes,
blocking water flow, and costing cities millions of dollars in repairs and maintenance.

05-We have seven lakes in the state that have confirmed zebra mussels in them.

Brian Van Zee returns tomorrow to talk about the latest zebra mussel infestation and how it happened. Learn more about aquatic invasives at www.texasinvasives.org.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series and works to increase fishing and boating opportunities in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 11th, 2015 at 12:00 am and is filed under Aquatic invasives, Giant Salvinia, Habitat, Texas Invasives, Tilapia, Zebra mussels. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.