2021
Water Soldier- Awareness & Habitat Recovery
Project Objectives:
Invasive species are a growing environmental and economic threat to Ontario. Invasive species are plants, animals, and micro-organisms introduced by human action outside their natural past or present distribution whose introduction or spread threatens the environment, the economy, or society, including human health (Government of Canada, 2004). Once established, invasive species are extremely difficult and costly to control and eradicate, and their ecological effects are often irreversible. For example, invasive species management and control in Canada has an approximate annual cost to be as much as $20 billion to the forest sector, $7 billion for aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes and $2.2 billion in the agricultural sector (Environment Canada, 2010).
Water soldier (Stratiotes aloides) is an invasive perennial aquatic plant that is native to Europe and northwest Asia. It forms dense mats of floating and submerged vegetation, and aggressively out competes native vegetation, threatens the diversity of aquatic ecosystems, and can significantly impede recreational activities. The ISAP continues to have a lead role in coordinating a response to existing and new populations to prevent new introductions and address existing populations that threaten to invade provincial, national, and international waters.
As part of a multi-year control plan to eradicate water soldier from Ontario and have seen a significant reduction of water soldier after multiple years of wide-scale treatment. In 2021, we seek to continue monitoring and surveillance of water soldier populations in Ontario to determine the efficacy of the treatments in 2020, as well as support the planning/preparation for the 2021 treatment. In addition to monitoring and surveillance, program staff will continue to engage the public on water soldier, including the deliberate actions people can take to prevent the introduction and/or spread of invasive species.
