Dr. Melissa Gibbs Stetson University What are we doing about Blue Spring’s Invasive Non-native Fish Species? Dr. Melissa Gibbs Stetson University

Vermiculated Suckermouth Sailfin Catfish Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus Tilapia Oreochromis aureus video clip

What does “Invasive” really mean? invasive species grow fast, reproduce at young age, produce large numbers of offspring, are tolerant of a wide variety of conditions, can adapt, and are capable of ecological harm may also be non-native (exotic) if it does not naturally live in an area; usually introduced by human intervention

Can we control invasive species? No....tilapia and armored catfish are established in Florida (they are everywhere, and can’t be eradicated). What can we do about them? All we can do is improve conditions for our native species by controlling human impacts on the environment fertilizer pollution water conservation manatee speed zones not releasing aquarium fish