NYS Invasive Species Awareness Week

Did you know that our lake and watershed are home to some 15 to 30 invasive species? Woah!

But what is an invasive species and why might there be a week in our state devoted to learning more about them? Learn more about invasive species awareness week here!

Sea lamprey and its bite mark in a fish.

An invasive species is any species that was brought to an ecosystem from someplace else and takes over, out competing native species. In our watershed we have many species of carp, gobys, lampreys, zebra and quaga mussels, rusty crayfish, hydrilla, eurasian water milfoil, and many other species which were brought here and are now part of our lake ecosystem.

Boat propeller caught in Eurasian Water Milfoil.

There are several key species that Discover Cayuga Lake looks at in our programming, both on the boat with the Floating Classroom and in streams with Trout in the Classroom. Normally, this time of year, we would be taking a closer look at some of the invasive species that we see on the boat. In coming days we will highlight individual species and talk about how to find them, how they spread, and why it is important to try to control their influence of our lake and watershed ecosystems.