Eurasian milfoil is a delicate looking flora that was once a common flora to find in fresh water fish tanks.
Yet, It did not stay there. Now it is considered an invasive species that threatens The northern Us fresh water streams, rivers, pools and lakes.
In its domestic Eurasian environment it is a comparatively innocent plant (but still a bit of a pest) but here, out of its normal waters, it takes over and demolish ecosystems, clogs water intakes and power plants, and makes them unsuitable for recreational purposes.
Several hypotheses are around that explain its introduction. One is that it hitched a ride on the ballast of a ship coming from Europe or Asia. That is a good guess. When they tested ships leaving occupied water, 25 percent carried some milfoil with it. The other main possibility is it was introduced by individuals discarding aquarium plants or packing material used to ship live worms.
The most dangerous thing about this plant is that it can adapt to live in nearly every kind of aquatic habitat in North America. It can live in the cold of Washington State or the warmth of Florida. From fresh waters of the Rockies to the salty waters of the salt marshes it can prosper. To make its life easier, nothing seems to like eating it.
Once established it spreads quickly in waters that range from two feet to up to thirty feet, matting up just below the surface and choking out the native vegetation. Some plants like millet are given little chance to grow, which causes troubles because they are a food source for many and a home for small marine animals. This matted growth also causes trouble for any mammals or birds that fish for their food. Further more, the large mats keep the wind from properly aerating the water and suffocating adult fish as well as assisting spawn algae blooms which further exacerbate the problem.
These plants are problematic to people as well. Not only does milfoil reduce water quality but the mats make shoreline bathing hopeless. Milfoil impedes fish reproduction, which means fewer fishermen. Milfoil is also a problem for watermen because it can become entangled on the engine, cause risks for water skiers and block navigation hazards from the boatmen view.
Residential Districts and businesses are also put at a disadvantage because of this little water flora. Water intakes or over flows can get clogged leading to deficits in some areas and flooding in others. Dams and electrical energy output can also be touched if the water flora mats get caught up in the dams.
Milfoil control has been hard. More Often Than Not poisons are out of the question as they demolish the very ecosystem they were meant to save. Physically removing the plant isn’t fully productive because the parts that break off can form new plants somewhere else. For that reason the large automatic harvesters are only used in the worst cases and then only as a first step. Milfoil has been more successfully removed by vacuum dredging, which can pick up any broken pieces left behind. A weevil maybe the answer to the milfoil dilemma as it love to eat the water flora and is a natural way to fight the weed.
Milfoil is just one type of unwanted species that has overstayed its welcome; many other unwanted aquatic plants are still thriving across the nation. When plants or creatures are introduced outside their natural environment, you can’t anticipate the implications.