Preliminary results from systematic monitoring of Wisconsin lakes for aquatic invasive species confirm that boaters, not ducks or other birds, are spreading the invaders around. That is according to state and University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.
None of the wilderness lakes surveyed – those in remote places and easily accessible only to wildlife – had any invasive species present while there was a direct link between the presence of invasive species and boat access from public or private property. This suggests that these aquatic invasive species are spread by boaters.
“The fact that accessible lakes are the ones that are invaded indicates that these species are moved by boaters,” says Alex Latzka, a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate student involved in the research. “While birds could transport invasive species from one lake to another, our finding that remote lakes do not have invasive species strongly indicates that birds are not an important factor.”