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Doug Jensen Chat Session
Moderator: Hello everyone, and welcome to the Bell LIVE! host researcher
chat session. Today we are going to talk to exotic species expert, Doug Jensen.
Moderator: Welcome Doug! I have a good question right away for
you from Lisa in Minnesota. She wants to know, "What are exotic species?"
Doug Jensen: Exotic species are invasive plants and animals that
are put in places where they don't belong. They can crowd
out native species, take away habitat, and can even impact recreation
and industry. It is important to know that not all exotic
species are invasive. Some exotics are benefitial, while others can be
invasive are the ones that cause problems.
Moderator: Gabe, also from Minnesota, asks "What are some kinds
of bad exotic species?"
Doug Jensen: Some examples of invasive exotic species include:
zebra mussels, Eurasian ruffe, round goby, purple loosestrife,
Eurasian watermilfoil, sea lamprey, rusty crayfish and spiny waterflea.
There are many more. In the Great Lakes alone, there
have been nearly 160 nonindigenous or exotic species introduced since
1810 until now.
Moderator: Lisa was wondering, "how do you get rid of exotic species?"
Doug Jensen: Getting rid of exotic species once they are established
is very difficult if not impossible. That is why prevention
is so important. The good news is that we can all take action to prevent
the spread of exotic species. Knowing what some of
these invaders are, what threats they pose, what they look like are the
important first steps. The next step is knowing what to
do if your a gardener, have an aquarium with fish and plants, a boater,
an angler, or if you purchase study specimens from a
biological supply house. Basically, it just isn't a good idea to release
things into the wild. And, in Minnesota is illegal to do so.
Once an exotic species establishes itself, we can work to prevent it from
spreading elsewhere. But, people in that area where
the exotic now lives will have to deal with its impacts forever.
Moderator: Chad from Michigan wants to know what your favorite
insect is.
Doug Jensen: Definately my favorite aquatic insect are caddisflies.
The are so cool because the larvae that live in the water
build all kinds of places to live. The build tubes, burrow into the mud,
build nets to catch food -- each kind is very different and
there are so many kinds from Michigan to Minnesota. I used to study aquatic
insects as my job before I got into exotics.
Moderator: Sarah, also from Michigan, was wondering "What was your
favorite subject in school?"
Doug Jensen: I liked all kinds of subjects in school. My favorite
ones were science, biology, geography, music, history and
math. I use a lot of what I learned from school everyday at home and at
work. Especially math. If I had one word of advise, it
that students really need to buckle down on math. Its really important.
Moderator: Chad asked, "What does the biggest scariest bug look
like?"
Doug Jensen: Wow, many great questions! One of the scariest aquatic
bugs is the giant waterbug. They are native to lakes
and rivers. They can get 3-4 inches long. They have a needle like mouth
that it uses to inject into their prey which they capture
with their long front legs. Swimmers sometimes call these insects 'toe
biters' becuase sometimes giant waterbugs will 'bite' a
swimmer's toe. They look like a beetle, but really they are a group of
insects called 'true bugs.'
Moderator: Todd from New York said, "I saw a picture of zebra mussels
sticking to a rock. Can they stick to human skin too?"
Doug Jensen: Zebra mussels have the ability to attach to any hard
surface using sticky fibers that they secrete called 'bysall
threads.' They can attach to rocks, pilings, logs, docks, motors, swimming
platforms, navigational buoys, and clog water intake
systems of boats. Fortunately, they will not attach to human skin. You
would have to lay on the bottom of a lake or river
completely still for several days to allow zebra mussels to attach. If
that were the case, I think that zebra mussels would be the least of your worries!
Moderator: Lisa wants to know, "When you go to work are you outside
or in a lab?" Maybe you could tell us more about what you do at work.
Doug Jensen: Mostly now I work in an office. In a previous job,
I worked outside conducting research on lakes, rivers, and
wetlands. Usually, I would take samples of water, mud, insects and fish
during the summer and analyze them in the laboratory
during the winter. In my current job, I do all kinds of stuff. That's
what make my job so exciting to me. My main responsibility
is being coordinator for our exotic species information center. I answer
requests from all over the world about exotic species
research and outreach. These requests come from people studying fish and
environment, from agencies like the Department of
Natural Resources, other Sea Grant Programs, from businesses who are impacted
by exotic species, or from students like you
who may be interested in doing a science project on exotics. Once in awhile,
I still get outside to do some research.
Moderator: Gabe says, "We have milfoil in the lake near our house,
but why don't the ducks just eat it for food?"
Doug Jensen: The problem with Eurasian watermilfoil is that it
grows so quickly that diseases, parasites and predators, like
ducks, just can't keep up with it. This is something that is common to
all invasive species. Once moved from their native ranges,
they are released from these environmental controls that keep that plant
or animal from taking over. This is one of the main
challenges for researchers - to try to identify those controls and use
them to our advantage to manage infestations so that we
can minimize the impacts of exotic species here and to prevent or slow
further spread.
Moderator: Ms. Benson was wondering, "How can kids get involved
in stopping the spread of exotic species?"
Doug Jensen: One of the lessons we've learned about exotic species
is that exotic species' spread can be prevented. If you
are a boater or angler, each time you are at the water access, make sure
that you: *Remove aquatic plants and animals *Drain
lake or river water *Dispose of unwanted leftover live bait on shore or
in the trash *Rinse boat and equipment with high
pressure, hot water, especially if the boat is stored or moored on the
water for more than a day, OR *Dry everything for at
least five days. By taking these actions, kids can play a huge role in
taking action themselves and reminding their parents, family
and friends that is is important to do these things. It only takes a couple
of minutes to do the right thing. These actions will
protect your property and our water resources. Last, if you have a backyard
watergarden or aquarium, do not release your
pets into the wild. Contact an aquarium store to see if they have a pet
exchange program. Some offer this.
Moderator: Wow, that was an awesome chat session! I would like
to thank everyone for participating this morning. I would
also like to thank Doug Jensen for taking the time to answer all of our
questions! We will be having another chat session
tomorrow, October 5th, with Don Schreiner from the Minnesota DNR. Hope
to hear from you then! Bye!
Doug Jensen: Great session! Thanks for participating. It was fun!
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Last modified on May 23, 2002.