Estimating the invasion extent of Asian swamp eel (Monopterus: Synbranchidae) in an altered river of the south-eastern United States
Jeffery R. Johnson A D , Andrew T. Taylor B and James M. Long
C E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, 008 AGH, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.
B Department of Biology, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK 73034, USA.
C US Geological Survey, Oklahoma Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, 007 AGH, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.
D Present address: US Fish and Wildlife Service, Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, 510 Desmond Drive SE, Lacey, WA 98503, USA.
E Corresponding author. Email: longjm@okstate.edu
Marine and Freshwater Research 72(6) 811-822 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF20257
Submitted: 21 August 2020 Accepted: 21 September 2020 Published: 18 December 2020
Abstract
The first reported invasion of Asian swamp eels (Monopterus albus, ASE) in the continental United States was in the state of Georgia in 1994. This population was first discovered within several ponds on a private nature centre, but the ponds drained via an outflow pipe into marsh habitats along the Chattahoochee River. Our objective was to delineate the current invasion extent of ASE in the Chattahoochee River, Georgia, by sampling juvenile ASE within an occupancy modelling framework. We sampled 111 and 100 sites in 2015 and 2016 respectively, on 10 occasions, each within a 2-km radius of the purported invasion point to estimate the spatial extent of their invasion in this system. Leaf-litter traps (LLTs) were effective at documenting an increase in the invasion extent of ASE, from within 100 m of the Chattahoochee Nature Center pond outflow to 1.6 km away. Documenting the extent of invasion of this population has proven elusive in the past, but the use of LLTs to target juvenile eels has documented a larger invasion extent than previously known in the study system. The results of this research can be used to develop effective control and management strategies, such as locating potential breeding areas for targeted removal sampling.
Keywords: biomonitoring, ecology, freshwater, introduced species, littoral zone, marshes.
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