Invasive Species

The CBP is working to identify invasive species and formulate management plans for those species that are causing negative impacts to the Bay's aquatic ecosystem. USGS information on nutria, mute swans, and hydrilla was utilized to identify and develop a target list of 13 species for which management plans or risk assessments will be conducted. The USGS is conducting studies that will help with some of the risk assessments including:

• Identifying invasive species populations related to submerged aquatic vegetation.
• Studying nutria in the Blackwater Refuge and its relation to wetland loss.

The Invasive Species spotlight is on The Exotic Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) in Chesapeake Bay, USA.

Please visit the Programs and Projects page to find links to the USGS programs working on invasive species in the Bay. For links and information on various USGS data and spatial information sites on the Bay area's resources visit the Data page. Many reports and publications are available visit the Publications page to find them.

We welcome comments on this page that will make the Web site more useful.

Visit the Spotlight Archive page for a listing of sites that have been featured on the USGS Chesapeake Bay Web.

Back to the top