Class Project Website Debut!

The final version of the class project website is now available for your viewing pleasure. Thanks go out to the students from both Rick and me for all of the hard work they put into the species profiles. You guys should be proud!

Reading for 5/14

Guest Speaker: Jay Baker, Coastal Zone Management, Northeast Aquatic Species Nuisance Panel

Reading Assignment: Please read IV. Management Objectives and Actions (pp. 32-53) in "The Massachusetts Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan" from the Massachusetts Aquatic Nuisance Species Working Group. Also, please skim the rest of the report to get an idea of what it covers.

Field Trip!

Rick scouted out the loading dock with you guys so we should be all set for meeting up at 4:30 sharp!!! on Wednesday.

We will be visiting wetland habitat in the Neponset River Watershed, where we will see no fewer than a dozen different invasive plant species, including Japanese knotweed, porcelainberry, Phragmites, perennial pepperweed, autumn olive, tree of heaven and purple loosestrife. Most of the species we spot will be at their humble spring beginnings (translation: not in flower). You are welcome to bring a camera and/or a field guide, if you have one. Rick and I will bring guides as well.

While high tide will be occurring right around our trip, we won't be venturing into the estuary (few invasive plants there!) so no need to wear your waders. That said, there will be dirt, sand, possibly a little mud, and some thorny things, so sensible shoes and clothes for being out in the field are recommended...and you will all be asked to "check your boat" and remove all plant propagules before leaving the site :-).

For an introduction to local invasive plant species, check out these websites:

• Mass Invaders
  
• IPANE
  
• Invasive Plants of Nantucket (a project I worked on - not all of the species are ones we'll see here, but there is a good crossover, and it has a search by leaf and flower characters that is worth exploring)

Readings for 5/7

In Monday's class we will be covering invasive species outreach.

Our readings will come from this document:

Communicating Effectively About ANS Issues

Please read ALL of the following:

• The introductory page
  
• One of the four pilot projects (your choice of Arizona, Missouri, New Hampshire or South Carolina). These are big files so just skim to get an idea of what the states were dealing with and note some specific projects.
  
• The entire Recommendations section

The entire document is too large to print out. However, if you would like to download your own copy (10Mb file), you can do so here. Once you unzip that file, start with the file named MAINMENU.pdf.

Readings for 5/2

This Wednesday our guest speaker will be Beth Suedmeyer from the Massachusetts Wetlands Restoration Program. Beth will be speaking about the state's purple loosestrife biocontrol project, which you can read more about here.

Readings for this class are:

• "AN UPDATE ON THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE IN MASSACHUSETTS." 2007. by Beth Suedmeyer. AMWS newsletter, April. (sent to students via email)
• "Indirect effects of host-specific biological control agents." by Pearson, D. E. and R. M. Callaway. 2003. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18(9): 456-461. (pdf)

Guests are welcome for this lecture and discussion.

Links from Monday's class

Here are web links relevant to Monday's class:

• GISP Toolkit (for managing invasive species)
  
• Weed Wipeout Flash Game
  

Readings for 4/30

For Monday's class we will be covering chemical controls:

Chemical Controls

Pick one from Group A and one from Group B:

Group A

• TNC's Weed Control Methods Handbook: Tools and Techniques for Use in Natural Areas
  
  • Chapter 6 (Herbicide Properties) (.pdf) + One section (A through K) from Chapter 7 (The Herbicides)
  
  
• NIMPIS: Control options - Rapid Response Toolbox
• Chemical Control (read whole page, click "More Information" for at least three techniques)

Group B

• Highlights of the Zebra Mussel Chemical Control Guide (Read this introduction, then pick at least 2 specific chemical controls from the list (i.e. CLAM-TROL or Bromine)

• Asian Longhorned Beetle Insecticides + one "Wildcard" option - any article or website discussing a chemical control not listed above.