Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Project Coordinator at Cleveland Metroparks.

My team and I look for aquatic invasive plants occurrences in Ohio's Lake Erie basin. Often these invaders are introduced via aquarium dumps or as hitchhikers on ornamental water garden plants. Just a little fragment can be enough to launch a new population of aquatic nuisance plants. Early detection and rapid response programs give land managers a better shot at preventing the spread of invaders -- so post aquatic plants to iNaturalist and please tag me!

A close up of leaves, a picture of the entire plant, and a picture of the habitat are some key features that aid in aquatic plant ID.

For more information on the hydrilla project at Cleveland Metroparks: https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/about/conservation/natural-resources/current-issues/hydrilla-verticillata

I also manage Ohio's aquatic invasive plant survey on iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/aquatic-invasive-plant-survey-lake-erie-basin

For the Ohio Dragonfly Survey, another groovy iNaturalist project, see link here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/ohio-dragonfly-survey-ohio-odonata-survey

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