preview

St. Lawrence River Research Paper

Decent Essays

The St.Lawrence river is a large tourist attraction for northern New York. With invasive species being introduced to the river and the land surrounding they have affected the way the river looks and the species that are in it. Any plant or animal found outside of its normal range is considered to be invasive to the area it is now located. There has been an estimated 163 invasive species that have been discovered in the Great Lakes and the St.Lawrence since the late 1800’s. Of the 163 species that have been unintentionally introduced to the area, 85 of them reside in the St.Lawrence river. The variety of non-native plants and animals in the St.Lawrence river and surrounding land have had a continuing negative effect on the native ecosystem.
Of all the invasive …show more content…

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), is a plant native to Europe, Eastern Australia, Asia and Northern Africa. Through history, this plant has been used as a medical herb for the treatment of dysentery, bleeding, wounds, ulcers and sores. The introduction of the Purple Loosestrife, through shipping, has caused disruption of waterflow and the crowding out of native species. Each individual Loosestrife plant can produce up to 2.7 millions seeds , this has helped it overtake native species, such as the cattail. Very costly and difficult to remove, Purple Loosestrife numbers show no sign of decreasing. The Water Chestnut (Trapa natans L.), is an aquatic plant species native to Europe. Introduced much like the Purple Loosestrife, the Water Chestnut is a plant that thrives in shallow depths of rivers and lakes, but can spread to deeper waters. Due to the coverage and over population of the Water Chestnuts, navigation, livable habitat and recreational activities are all affected by the plant. The beds of Water Chestnut also provide a perfect breeding ground for

Get Access