Sea Lamprey Invasive Species (Petromyzon marinus)

DANGER!!!!!!!

Sea Lamprey is a highly invasive fish in the Great Lakes that has destroyed the native chub, lake trout, lake whitefish, herring, and other fish populations. It is originally from the Northern Atlantic Ocean, but through the building of canals through the Great Lakes, the Sea Lamprey has been introduced and has since become a huge problem. Sea Lampreys have exasperated other invasive problems in the Great Lakes such as the population explosions of the invasive alewives and gobies since the apex predators in the Great Lakes were wiped out. Sea Lampreys parasatize fish by laching onto their bodies and sucking their blood until the fish dies from being severely weakened or from infection. Invasive control is underway with lampricides, electric currents, barriers, and the killing of egg nests.

Burbot (Lota lota)

Burbot are very interesting and unique fish that look like a cross between an eel and catfish. A distinguishing feature is that they have only one barbel on their chin. The only fish that you can confuse it with is a bowfin, but bowfins have a contiguous dorsal fin while burbot do not. Burbot is an ancient fish that is the only one of its kind in its genus. There appears to have been more similar fish in its genus or family, but they seem to have gone extinct.

Burbot like to live in large cold rivers around the globe in the northern hemishphere. They also live in the Great Lakes, especially in Lake Erie.When young they eat small invertebraes such as copepods and cladocerans, and as adults they are piscivores eating other fish such as lampreys, trout, perch, suckers, etc.etc.

Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus)

Black Crappie is a fish native to eastern North America. It is also seen in all of the other 48 mainland states of the U.S., but it is thought to originally live in the eastern states. Black crappies can be distinguished from white crappies (the only other crappie in the U.S.) by counting the dorsal fin rays and by noting the pattern on its body. Black crappies have 7-8 dorsal fin rays, and white crappies have 5-6 dorsal fina rays. The pattern on black crappies is a series of black dots all over the body including the fins, and white crappies have vertical stripes running along its body. Generally, black crappies are darker than white crappies, but not in all cases especially as seen above in this beautiful light clear specimen.

Common Reed (Phragmites australis) Winterized

DAAANGEER!!!!!!!!
This exotic invasive perrennial plant has been causing a HUUUUGGE problem all over the Midwest region of the United States. It likes to grow in moist areas, and is now adapting to drier soils unofrtunatley. I have heard that it is originally from wetlands in the Middle East especially in the country of Iran where it is ironically critically endangered. Supposedlely the exotic one form came from Europe which might be a subspecies like the one in the Middle East, it is up for serious debate. There also is a native common reed, but it has hybridized with the exotic one. Please beware of this plant, if you see it in a new area, please remove as soon as possible or it will overtake your space in a matter of a few years. It reprduces rapidly through fast growing tubers and roots, and it produces toxins in the soil that kills other plants.... this one is a serious threat...so ERADICATE once you see it!!

Ashburn Prairie, A Jewel in the City Winterized

Softstem Bulrush Winterized

Soft-stem Bulrush in a frozen pond in Marquette Park.

Soft spongy interior of the stem, hence, its name.

Longitudinal section of the spongy soft interior of stem.

Palm Sedge Winterized

Palm Sedge likes to grow along the edges of lakes and ponds as shown above in the frozen pond in Marquette Park, Chicago.

A dead give away for this plant is the tall height of this plant and its highly triangular stem. Triangular stems are characteristic of carex species as the one above (Carex muskingumensis).

The stem is sharply triangular and tough.