Sheldon, S.P. and L.M. O'Bryan, 1996. The Effects of Harvesting Eurasian Watermilfoil on the Aquatic Weevil Euhrychiopsis lecontei, Middlebury College.

Reprinted with Permission from Journal of Aquatic Plant Management (1996) 34: 76-77

The Effects of Harvesting Eurasian Watermilfoil on the Aquatic Weevil Euhrychiopsis lecontei

Abstract
The exotic aquatic weed Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum L.) continues to spread in lakes in parts of the United States and Canada. Various forms of weed control methods, including mechanical, chemical, and physical means are being used to manage the weed. An aquatic weevil (Euhrychiopsis lecontei Dietz) appears, in some cases, to be able to control Eurasian watermilfoil causing significant bio mass reduction in the laboratory (Creed and Sheldon 1993), and in the field (Creed and Sheldon 1995, Sheldon and Creed 1995). The weevil preferred Eurasian watermilfoil (Sheldon and Creed 1995). Data from the six years following an Eurasian watermilfoil decline in a Vermont lake, show Eurasian watermilfoil has not regained its dominance, while native plant density has increased.

Before wide scale introductions of the weevil are made, we have been investigating a variety of factors that might influence weevil establishment. In this paper, we address use of the weevil in combination with mechanical harvesting, the most commonly used weed control method in Vermont.

Entire Paper
Contact: Sallie P. Sheldon, Middlebury College, Department of Biology, Middlebury, VT 05753-6151
Key Words: Eurasian_watermilfoil, Physical_control, Aquatic_plant_management
Product Type: Research, Control
User Type: Resource Management