Okanagan's Most Unwanted
The Purple Loosestrife and The Smallmouth Bass
These are "Invasive Species" in the Okanagan
They can spread to other environments by humans or accidental mistakes such as shipping it or the wind blowing a seed.
Invasive species have an impact because they can invade and kill native species to the Okanagan.
My Invasive Species: Smallmouth Bass and Purple Loosestrife as seen in the pictures below.
My Invasive Species
- Common Names: Purple Loosestrife ~ Smallmouth Bass
- Scientific Names: Lythrum Salicaria ~ Micropterus Dolomieu
Smallmouth Bass
Smallmouth Bass UnderWater
Comparasen Of Smallmoth and Largemouth Bass
Purple Loosestrife
Close - up Purple Loosestrife
Field Of Purple Loosestrife
Hangouts / Sightings For My Insasive Species
Hangouts
Smallmouth Bass can be found in these lakes: Okanagan Lake, Osoyoos Lake, Skaha Lake and Vaseux Lake.Purple Loosestrife can be found in these locations: is found in wet areas at low- to mid-elevations, growing in ditches, irrigation canals, marshes, stream and lake shorelines and shallow ponds in the Okanagan.
Sightings
Purple Loosestrife: There is 0.
Smallmouth Bass: Okcanagan Lake, Shaha Lake, Shannon Lake, Osoyoos Lake, Vaseux Lake.
Where They Came From and How They Got to the Okanagan.
Purple Loosestrife: It originally came from Port Alberni garden in 1916 and has spread to the Okanagan. It has spread from 2 ways. One, inside of a water ballast of a ship in Europe. It has also unintentionally came to the Okanagan because it was introduced as a medical plant and in the hands of beekeepers because it has a popular yield of honey. People aslo thought it was ornamental.
Smallmouth Bass: It has arrived in BC in 1901 as fry or fingerlings, planted in lakes on Vancouver Island. It has spread both naturally, moving through lakes, rivers, streams and with the help of fishermen, who released bass into lakes to establish private fishing opportunities.
Impacts or "Crimes" The Invasive Species Has to the Local Ecosystem.
Purple Loosestrife: They will out-complete plant species for light , space and pollinators, and choke native wildlife under a sea of purple flowers and dense, tight strands. It also clogs irrigation systems and obstructs waterways used by recreational boaters. In USA, over 200,000 hectares / 494,211 acres of wetlands are lost each year because of purple loosestrife.
How They Spread Or Reproduce
How to Prevent the Spread of These Invasive Species
Smallmouth Bass: There is not alot of ways to help prevent smallmouth bass. One of the ways is to go fishing for them and take them elsewhere, but that will take a long time.